


Sonic Underground: Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree

by GalacticDefender4679



Series: Sonic Underground: Equestria Girls [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, High School, Magic, Superheroes, outdoor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 09:11:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19059607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalacticDefender4679/pseuds/GalacticDefender4679
Summary: After a series of magical events have plagued CHS, they need a break so the whole class packs up their gear and heads to Camp Everfree out in the woods. But when Twilight and the girls gain new magic powers, Sonic and Sunset are certain there’s more to this camp than meets the eye.





	1. The Legend Begins

It had been a while since the Friendship Games, and the principals of CHS decided to treat their students to a trip to a camp in the woods. On the day they were due to leave, Twilight was still asleep in her bed tossing and turning at a nightmare she was having.

“No. It can’t be,” she said in her sleep. “It isn’t true!” Then a faint tapping was heard from her bedroom door.

“Um, Twilight?” came Fluttershy’s voice from the other side of it. Then someone knocked harder, waking up Spike.

“Twilight!” shouted Rainbow. “The bus for Camp Everfree leaves in TEN MINUTES!” Finally, Twilight woke up and grabbed her glasses.

“Oh, no, no, no, no! I can’t believe I overslept!” she said. Then the door opened revealing the rest of the team all wearing shirts with the same picture on them.

“Me neither. That’s not like you,” said Sunset.

“At all,” said Sonic.

“I know,” said Twilight as she rushed to pack for the trip.

“Don’t you have a super annoying alarm clock that goes EHH EHH EHH?” asked Pinkie. Then Manic lifted a pillow and saw it was underneath, somehow jumping around.

“Found it!” he said. Then Sunset walked over and turned it off.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Sonic. “We’ll help you pack.” Quickly, everyone threw in everything Twilight might need out in the wilderness. Then Sonia pulled out the dress Twilight’s counterpart wore to the Fall Formal. Rarity seemed in extreme favor of it, but Knuckles and Applejack were skeptical.

“We’re gonna be out in the woods,” said Applejack.

“When the hell is she gonna need that?” asked Knuckles.

“If we were going to the moon, I’d insist she packed an evening gown,” said Rarity. “One never knows, darling.”

“Jeez, it’s like Sonia’s in stereo,” Sonic said to Manic.

“Amen to that, brother,” said Manic.

“Lemme just get changed,” said Twilight. Sonic and the guys quickly looked averted their eyes to give her some privacy. Twilight had just grabbed a shirt like the ones the others were wearing when she saw a huge pair of purple wings spread in the mirror behind her. She recognized them easily, as did everyone else the form that materialized in the room.

“Midnight Sparkle!” they shouted.

“How is this possible?” asked Twilight.

“It isn’t!” said Shadow, pulling out his Hellfire Shotguns and aiming them at Midnight. “What are you doing here, Midnight? Sunset and I helped Twilight defeat you at the Friendship Games.”

“You and your friends can never truly defeat me!” said Midnight as she cackled maniacally and the room seemed to be digitized. Then the others followed suit as they disintegrated, screaming. Shadow managed to get off one shot, but it disintegrated before it made contact with its target.

“Midnight Sparkle is a part of you,” said the monster as it appeared in the mirror behind Twilight before she finished destroying the room, leaving Twilight hovering. “I’ll always be there, waiting in the darkest shadows of your mind. I’ll be back, Twilight! And this time, I won’t stop until I have all the magic!” Then she melded with the poor girl, her wings, horn, and eye lenses appearing on her body.

“NOOO! STOP!” she cried.

“Twilight, wake up!” said Spike, shaking her. It was all just a nightmare. She was on the bus headed for the camp with the others.

“We can’t stop, silly!” said Pinkie. “We’re not there yet.”

“And we won’t be for at least another half-hour,” said Manic, checking his watch.

“Hey, you feeling alright?” asked Shadow.

“Huh. I’m fine,” lied Twilight. Sunset wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t manage to get a word in before Pinkie started talking again.

“We are gonna have so much fun!” she said. “We’re gonna roast marshmallows and eat marshmallows and sleep on marshmallow pillows!”

“Yeah, probably not gonna do that,” said Rainbow.

“Maybe you’re not,” said Pinkie, holding up a bag full of marshmallows and holding it next to her face.

“I still don’t get what you see in her, Manic,” said Sonia.

“Yeah, half the time, neither do I,” he said.

“Attention students!” said Celestia. “We’re almost there, but before we arrive, we just wanted to say how proud we are of you for raising enough money to go on this class field trip. Especially you, Sonic.”

“Ah, think nothin’ of it,” he said, spinning a gold ring on his finger. “I’ve got plenty more of these things where that came from.”

“When we were your age, we made some of our favorite memories in these woods, and we’re sure you will too.”

“Now who’s excited for Camp Everfree?” asked Celestia, earning a huge round of cheering before Twilight looked out the window and Sonic stood up with a boombox in his hand.

“Who’s up for a little music on the road?” he asked and everyone thought that was a great idea. “All right. We recorded this last week. Hope you enjoy.”

**(Play “The Legend of Everfree” song – Original Movie)**

Then he put the boombox on one of the luggage racks and turned the volume up to full before he turned it on to start playing a mandolin and stomping drumbeat before they started singing along with the recording.

_Sonic Rainbooms and Recording: Will you be lost by time or be part of history?_   
_Will your story be told or remain a mystery?_   
_Will they sing your song, telling all that you have done?_   
_Time to make your choice, only you can be the one_

_Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa_   
_As you join in the Legend of Everfree! (Hey!)_   
_Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa_   
_As you join in the Legend of Everfree! (Hey! Hey! Hey!)_

Then everyone started clapping along to the song.

_Will you do something great with the time that you have here?_   
_Will you make your mark? Will you conquer what you fear?_   
_And when you go back home, everybody there will see_   
_You were part of the Legend of Everfree!_

_Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa_   
_As you join in the Legend of Everfree! (Hey!)_   
_Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa_   
_As you join in the Legend of Everfree! (Hey!)_

_Will you find your greatest glory?_   
_Will you be a falling star?_   
_Here to learn what nature teaches_   
_Here to learn more who you are_

_Will you be lost by time or be part of history?_   
_Will your story be told or remain a mystery?_   
_And when you go back home, everybody there will see_   
_You were part of the Legend of Everfree!_

_Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa_   
_As you join in the Legend of Everfree! (Hey!)_   
_Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa_   
_As you join in the Legend of Everfree…!_   
_Hey!_


	2. Welcome to Camp

Once everyone got off the bus, Knuckles took a deep breath and let out a contented sigh.

“Man, it has been way too long since I’ve been out in the country.” said the echidna as he slung a bag over his shoulder.

“Isn’t Camp Everfree just beautiful?” asked Fluttershy.

“You said it. This place is really nice,” said Sonic, looking around.

“I can’t wait until we have our first nature walk,” said Fluttershy.

“I definitely wanna go on one of those,” said Spike.

“You want to see all the adorable woodland creatures, too?” asked Fluttershy.

“Yeah. Specifically squirrels,” said Spike. “More specifically…”

“So you can chase them?” asked Tails.

“Yep,” said Spike as he growled and barked playfully.

“Even when he can talk, he’s still a genuine dog,” said Silver.

“I’m just lookin’ forward to roughin’ it,” said Applejack.

“Oh man, I want in on that. I can teach you some tricks I learned on Angel Island,” said Knuckles. “We can make our own shelter, forage for food…”

“Uh, you guys do know they give us food and tents, right?” asked Sonia.

“Yep. Still gonna forage, though,” said Applejack.

“Damn right we are,” said Knuckles. Then he saw Silver struggling with a pile of Rarity’s matched luggage. “Need a hand, Silver?”

“No, I got it.” he strained.

“Whew. I’m just after some R&R,” said Rarity. “The past year has all been a bit too much for my tastes.”

“I’ll say!” said Pinkie. “We fought three evil sirens who tried to hypnotize everybody with their singing, a couple of interdimensional criminals, one ridiculously competitive rival school, and two demon friends!” Then she gestured to Twilight and Sunset. “Uh, no offense.”

“None taken,” said Sunset.

“You’ll get used to it,” said Shadow. “She did.”

“Yup, Canterlot High has become a regular magic magnet,” said Knuckles, stretching. “It’s nice to get back out into nature every now and again. Especially if it means less of the stuff that’s happened at the last few school events.” Then Flash walked up to Twilight and handed her backpack to her.

“Here ya go Twilight,” he said.

“Oh, thanks. It’s Flash, right?” asked Twilight as she put it on.

“Yup. That’s me. And you’re you,” he said, getting rapidly more awkward. “And we don’t know each other very well. Cool story, bro.”

“Right. I guess I’ll see you around,” said Twilight. With that, Flash left.

“Has anybody else noticed that Flash is even more awkward around this Twilight than he was with the other one?” whispered Manic.

“Yo.” said everyone. Then Twilight shrugged to Sunset and Shadow.

“You know how there’s that girl who looks just like you when she’s here, but lives in another dimension and she’s a pony princess?” asked Sunset.

“Uh-huh?” said Twilight.

“Yeah, Flash kinda had a thing for her,” said Shadow.

“Ohh,” said Twilight.

“Yeah…” said Sonic before the camp’s PA went on with huge feedback. “OW, my ears!”

“Hey everyone!” said a cheery voice. “If you could start heading to the courtyard, that’d be rad! It’s time to start the best week of camp ever!”

“Well, we might as well,” said Rainbow. “Let’s go, Sonic.”

“What?!” he asked. Everyone looked at him, hoping he didn’t go deaf, but then he smirked. “Just kidding.”

“Aaahh! Nice one, bro.” said Manic, fist-bumping him. Later, they were all gathered in front of a wooden gazebo that looked like it was hand-made where two people were standing. One was a woman with light green eyes, pale amaranth skin and hair colored two different shades of moderate raspberry. Knuckles noticed that she was wearing a necklace with five different colored geodes in it… which he seemed to be sensing some minor energy from. The other was a young man with grayish-green eyes, light tangelo skin, and hair colored two different shades of dark aquamarine.

“Hi everyone! Welcome to Camp Everfree,” said the woman. “I’m Gloriosa Daisy, your camp director. Think of me as your friendly camp and nature guide. And this is my little brother, Timber Spruce, the counselor.” Then Timber grabbed the mic.

“Think of me as that awesome guy, who should always be invited to fun things,” he said.

“Sheesh. And you guys think _I_ have an ego,” said Sonic.

“We aim to please, so before we hand out tent assignments, we’d like to hear from all of you. You’re free to do whatever you like here.”

“Except hike near the rock quarry,” interrupted Timber. “That area’s off-limits.”

“Well yes, but other than that your options are wide open,” said Gloriosa.

“Noted.” thought Silver.

“So what activities will make this the very best week of your life ever?” asked Gloriosa. As always, in these situations, Rainbow was the first to stick her hand up, listing off rock climbing, archery, and tetherball before Shadow pulled her arm down as best he could without breaking it with his strength.

“Dash, I know you’re pumped, but you think you could give someone else a chance to make a suggestion?” he asked. Then the big guy on the group recommended arts and crafts, prompting all the guys to start looking at him weirdly. He justified it, of course. By saying his mother needed new potholders. Gloriosa okayed it anyway.

“Cookie decorating!” said Pinkie, licking her upper lip.

“Why not?” asked Manic. “I make a mean sugar cookie.”

“Ooh, that makes two of us,” said Gloriosa. “Anyone else?”

“Early morning nature walks,” said Fluttershy.

“With hiking poles for everyone!” said Gloriosa.

“I’ve already seen some pretty good wood for that.” said Tails.

“Oh, me!” said Rarity. “A fashion show where I can design the most fabulous camp looks inspired by today’s hottest trends and have them modeled by my classmates in a gorgeous outdoor setting!”

“A camp tradition!” said Gloriosa.

“We have literally never done that,” said Timber. After hearing that, Sonic and his team did an anime-style pratfall, as Gloriosa went back to the mic.

“I’ll be taking any more requests the rest of the time you’re here, so if there’s anything else you’d like to do, anything you need, just ask,” she said as Timber found his eyes drifting over to Twilight, who started blushing. Sunset and the others noticed and smirked.

“What about the camp gift?” asked Celestia. “That was always my favorite Camp Everfree tradition.”

“Oh, the camp gift! Of course,” said Gloriosa.

“Really?” asked Timber.

“Yes, really,” she returned.

“I just thought--” Timber began.

“Then you thought wrong,” returned his sister.

“Anyone else picking up on a little tension between Gloriosa and her brother?” asked Sunset.

“Ehhhhh.” said everyone noncommittedly.

“A little,” said Pinkie.

“Kinda,” said Manic.

“Camp gift? What’s all that about?” asked Sonic.

“Well, every year, campers work together to create something useful. A sort of a gift for future campers,” said Gloriosa. “Working toward this common goal is key to forming the strong bonds that will last well beyond your time here at camp.” Then she covered the mic and whispered to her brother. “Which is why it’s so important.” Then she went back to the mic. “This gazebo here was a gift from last year’s group. Oh, and the totem pole and sundial were also gifts from previous generations of campers.”

“The sundial was actually our year’s gift,” said Celestia. Then Luna cleared her throat.

“Even though some people thought it was a bit impractical since a sundial can’t be used at night,” she said with an edge to her voice.

“Family issues?” asked Sonic.

“Long since resolved, but yes,” said Celestia.

“All right, just checkin’,” said Sonic.

“You all seem like a really amazing group, so I’m certain you’ll come up with something inspiring to leave behind,” said Gloriosa. After that, everyone started cheering as Timber spoke up.

“Speaking of leaving things behind, now’s the time when we give out tent assignments, so you can leave your heavy bags behind,” he said. Sonic chuckled at that.

“Hey, nice one man,” he said.

“Oh, ya like that? I got a million more just like it,” he said.

“Girls will be getting their assignments from Timber,” said Gloriosa, stepping down. “Guys, you’re with me.”

“Well, you heard her boys,” said Sonic. “Cmon.” After Sonic got his, he saw it was a slip of paper with a picture of a blue gemstone on it.

“I take it you organize tents by gems?” he asked.

“You guessed it,” she said.

“Well, looks like I’m in Sapphire,” he said. “I’m a master geologist.” He wasn’t really, but he had to distinguish between real Chaos Emeralds and store-bought gemstones so many times, that he might as well be.

“I’m with Emerald,” said Knuckles.

“Yay! So am I!” said Pinkie, throwing her arms around him.

“Ooh. And me,” said Rarity.

“Awesome! Just uh, don’t bug me between 3:30 and four in the afternoon, cause that’s probably when I’ll be taking a shower under the waterfall,” he said.

“Aquamarine,” said Applejack.

“Same here,” said Rainbow.

“What up, ladies?” asked Manic.

“I got amethyst,” said Fluttershy.

“You’re with me and Vinyl then.” said Tails.

“Sapphire!” said Sunset.

“Me too!” said Twilight. “I mean, I’m assuming I am.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Sonic, holding up his card. “It’s a blue gem. I’m pretty sure that implies sapphire.”

“Well, technically sapphires aren’t just blue,” said Twilight. “They can be pink, purple, yellow…”

“Yeah, but they’re mostly blue,” said Timber. “That’s why they’re named after the Latin word ‘Saphirus’.” Twilight grinned at him, implying for him to go on. “It means blue,” he whispered.

“I know,” said Twilight. “But did you know that sapphires are basically just rubies without chromium?”

“No. No I did not,” said Timber. “But did you know that the sapphire tent is the best one?”

“No. Why’s that?” asked Twilight.

“Because you’re in it,” said Timber, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

**I’ve actually tried to do that myself a couple of times, but it takes a lot of concentration, so I suck at it.**

“Real nice, bud,” said Silver walking by. Twilight ignored the time traveler and rolled her eyes.

“Oh, I bet you say that to all the campers,” she said, taking her card back.

“Not true,” he said walking over to the big guy. “You’re in the ruby tent? HA! That’s the worst one!”

“Aw man!” he said upset.

“Nah, I’m just jokin’, buddy,” said Timber. “Ruby tent’s great. It’s like a sapphire, but with chromium.” The big guy just blinked. “But the ruby and coral tents do look an awful lot alike to the undiscerning eye. I’d better show you where it is.” Then he walked off and zipped back over to Twilight. “See ya round.” Then he zipped off. Then Sunset noticed Sonic was snoring standing up.

“Sonic? Sonic?” she asked. Then he snorted and woke up.

“Huh-who-howzat? Oh sorry, must’ve dozed off during that geek out moment. It’s a weird habit I’m trying to kick.” he said, stretching. Then Twilight noticed all the others looking at her funny and Rainbow started snickering.

“What?” she asked.

“Huh. Oh nothin’,” said Applejack.

“Ooh! That was adorable!” said Rarity.

“More like hilariously cute.” said Silver as he laughed. Then Gloriosa blew her whistle and walked over with a clipboard.

“Okay everyone, go get settled in,” she said. “We’ll be meeting at the docks in fifteen minutes to go over some camp safety rules. Let me know if you need anything!” Then a car door opened. Everyone looked and saw a smartly dressed man with gray hair and tan skin walking over from a limo.

“I need somethin’,” he said.

“When did he get here?” asked Sonia.

“More importantly, why didn’t we notice that limo until just now?” asked Silver.

“Good point,” said Shadow. Then Gloriosa walked over and led the man away to his car.

“Filthy Rich! So nice to see you,” she said before she tried to shove him back into his car and started whispering angrily. “What are you doing here? Camp is just getting started.”

“Just taking in the scenery, Gloriosa Daisy,” he replied. “It’s so relaxing.”

“Well, you can look around when camp is over,” said Gloriosa. “Now, if you don’t mind…” The two stared each other down for a while until Filthy checked his gold-plated watch and tapped on the limo, signifying for the engine to start back up.

“Fine,” he said simply and boarded the car before it drove off.

“What was all that about?” asked Sonic.

“Uh, Filthy rich is an alumni of the camp,” said Gloriosa. “He likes to check in on his old stomping grounds every now and again.” Everyone looked at each other disbelievingly. “But enough about him Find your tents and put away your things. We’ve got the best week of camp ever to begin!” Quickly, everyone grabbed their gear and made their way to their tents.


	3. New Magic

While everyone was unloading their gear, Rarity was walking along with Silver, Knuckles, and Applejack.

“I’m all for learning safety rules, but I do hope I can get started on my designs for the camp fashion show sooner rather than later,” she said.

“I’ve already got some basic ideas,” said Silver, holding up a notepad. “I sketched them on the bus for when we got back to town.

“Ah still can’t believe you talked Gloriosa into havin’ a fashion show,” said Applejack.

“Me neither,” said Knuckles. “We’re in the middle of the woods for God’s sake. We’re supposed to be roughin’ it. Y’know, living off the land.”

“It’s clear from Gloriosa’s own wardrobe that she admires a well put-together look,” said Rarity. “Even if we are in the ‘middle of the woods’.”

“Fair nuff,” said Applejack as she and Knuckles walked off. “Just as long as you two don’t put either of us in a couple of your fancy-shmancy outfits.” Rarity crossed her arms and smirked as Silver finished up another sketch, getting Knuckles suspicious.

“You’re going to, aren’t you?” he asked.

“No,” said Rarity.

“Okay yes,” said Silver. “But relax, they’re totally gonna speak to your personal senses of style.” Then in the sapphire tent, Sunset was unpacking and held a lit flashlight under her face making a weird noise.

“That might be handy for the ghost story section of the evening,” said Sonic.

“Thanks,” she said, before thinking about something. “That was weird back there, right? With that guy, Filthy Rich?”

“Yeah, I was definitely picking up some tension,” said Sonic. “How bout you, Twilight?”

“Huh? Oh, I guess so,” she said, emerging from being deep in thought.

“Why’d you ask, Sunset?” asked Sonic.

“I just have this weird feeling that Gloriosa’s hiding something,” she replied before she developed a devious grin. “Her brother is pretty cute though, huh?” Sonic knew she was directing it toward Twilight, who was blushing, and smiled.

“He’s okay,” said Twilight noncommittedly. Sonic let loose a wolf whistle and leaned against one of the tent’s support beams.

“Oooh, now look who’s trying to hide something,” said Sunset.

“No I’m not!” said Twilight quickly.

“Hey, you all right?” asked Sonic. “You seemed kinda freaked on the bus earlier.”

“Probably had another one of her nightmares,” said Spike.

“Nightmares?” asked Sonic. Twilight threw a pair of her socks onto her dog’s muzzle to shut him up.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I mean, what do I have to complain about? Ever since I transferred here, everyone from CHS has been really nice and accepting. Especially considering what happened at the Friendship Games.”

“Hey, hey, hey. That wasn’t your fault,” said Sonic. “Cinch was the one who convinced you to try and use the magic you ‘stole’ to win it for CPA.”

“You weren’t anywhere near ready to have that kind of power,” said Sunset. “But that’s all in the past now. And if there’s any group that’s gonna forgive you for something that happened in the past, trust me, it’s this one.”

“Especially when we have a time-traveler on our team,” said Sonic. Speaking of whom...

“Hey, you guys coming or what?” asked Silver, poking his head into the tent.

“Be right there,” said Sunset and Silver left as she rummaged through her bag. “I just wanna put on some sunscreen. Huh. Could’ve sworn I packed it.”

“Think it fell out?” asked Sonic.

“Seems likely,” said Sunset. Then Twilight looked at the floor.

“Found it,” she said. Then out of nowhere, a light raspberry aura surrounded it and it started floating up, along with a lot of other stuff in the tent.

“Whoa,” said Sonic in awe.

“Did you?” asked Sunset. “How is this possible?”

“Up until now, I thought it wasn’t,” said Sonic.

“I can’t believe this. It’s--” said Twilight.

“Amazing!” said Sunset.

“Terrible!” said Twilight.

“Awesome!” said Sonic. Then the stuff fell to the ground.

“Are you kidding, Twilight?” asked Sonic. “This is great!”

“Yeah!” said Sunset. “I mean sure, we’ve all ponyed up before. Gotten the whole ears and wings and tail thing, shot magical rainbow lasers but…”

“Nothing like this has ever happened. How the hell did you do it?” asked Sonic.

“I don’t know,” said Twilight, getting worried. “Maybe I didn’t. Maybe it’s her.”

“‘Her’ who?” asked Sunset.

“Nothing. Never mind,” said Twilight. “Can we just not talk about it? And could you please not bring this whole levitating thing up to the others?”

“What? Why not?” asked Sonic.

“You guys heard Knuckles; this is supposed to be a place where everyone can get away from magic. I don’t want them to know I brought some crazy new kind with me.”

“Hey, if you really don’t want us to say anything, our lips are sealed,” said Sonic.

“I really don’t,” said Twilight as she left.

“Okay, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing!” Sunset called after her. Once she left, Sunset looked at the bottle of sunscreen on the ground and tried to levitate it up herself, but nothing happened.

“I think you’re just gonna have to pick it up,” said Spike.

“Aw!” said Sunset, but she did anyway. Once she and Sonic walked outside, Sunset was layering on the sunscreen when she ran into Gloriosa.

“ _…Show up like that!_ ” Sunset heard Gloriosa’s voice echo in her head.

“What’d you just say?” she asked. Sonic looked at her weird before Gloriosa tried to play it off.

“I didn’t say anything,” she said. “Just here to make sure everyone was headed over to the docks. Did you need something?”

“Nah, we’re good,” said Sonic.

“Because if there is anything I can do to make this week the best week ever, you just let me know. I got this!” said Gloriosa walking away.

“Thanks, but like I said, we’re good,” said Sonic. Gloriosa nodded and walked away.

“People that chipper make me nervous,” said Sunset.

“Amen,” said Sonic. Then Pinkie ran over and grabbed them in a hug.

“This is gonna be soooo much fun!” she squealed.

“I guess not all people,” said Sunset and Sonic laughed.


	4. Camp Gift Decided

Later, everyone was at the dock, admiring the lake.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” asked Rarity.

“Like a giant diamond gleaming in the sun,” said Silver.

“It really is great to see there are places in the multiverse that aren’t spoiled by industry.” said Tails.

“It is lovely out here,” said Fluttershy as the wind started blowing her hair around. “The fresh air, the cool breeze,” Then a blue jay flew over and landed on her hand. “The birds that land on your finger.”

“Pretty sure that only happens to you,” said Shadow.

“Lake activities are available every day until dusk,” said Gloriosa after she finished with the safety rules. “So if want to canoe, sail, windsurf, or swim, just let me know.”

“Aw man, I haven’t gone wind-surfing since our trip to Hawaii,” said Sonic as he grabbed a board, threw off all his clothes but his shorts and took to the water. Then he noticed Fluttershy on the dock feeding the ducks.

“Aren’t they just the cutest?” she asked Twilight. Then as she turned around to look at the ducks, a board under her foot cracked and she nearly fell into the lake, and would’ve if Timber didn’t catch her.

“Whoa,” he said. “I know I’m charming, but you don’t have to fall for me.”

“Aw dude, that was just _bad_!” called Sonic as he started catching some waves in the middle of the lake. Flash had actually seen the whole thing and was kind of upset when Shadow and Sunset walked up.

“You okay man?” asked Shadow.

“Well, I guess I can’t get too jealous, right?” he said. “After all, she isn’t my Twilight.” Then he realized his words. “Not that the other Twilight was mine! But we were… you know.”

“Yeah. I get it,” said Sunset.

“Right, that whole thing after the Sirens’ defeat,” said Shadow.

“But your Twilight is a princess in Equestria,” said Sunset. “Hate to break it to you, but that’s where she’s gonna spend most of her time.”

“So you’re saying I just need to get over her?” asked Flash.

“If you want to put it like that, then yeah,” said Shadow.

“Ouch. You’re not pulling any punches,” said Flash.

“Not really our style,” said Sunset as she playfully punched him in the arm. “Sorry.”

“This is a serious safety hazard,” said Luna as Sonic glided back into shore.

“If I were in charge here, I’d close the dock for the rest of the week until you could get it fixed,” he said and everyone groaned.

“Oh, I’m sure it won’t be for the whole rest of the week,” said Gloriosa. “Just needs to get patched up a little. I got this!”

“Or maybe we do,” said Applejack. “If you ask me, the whole dad-burn thing needs to go.” Then she kicked one of the posts and it broke in half. “Buildin’ a new one could be our camp gift. Sure, it’d be for our benefit, but a nice new sturdy dock would benefit future groups too.” Everyone sounded on par with the idea.

“I dunno, it’s an awful lot of work,” said Timber. “Hate for you guys to miss out on other fun camp stuff because of the whole ‘dock for future campers’ thing.” Sunset could definitely fell the tension between brother and sister rising when Sonic, who still hadn’t put on his shirt yet, zipped next to Timber.

“I hear ya, big guy, but we’re the Wondercolts, for cryin’ out loud,” he said. “We got a rep to maintain, and there was no way in hell we were gonna leave without contributing the greatest camp gift in history. I’m with Jackie. Building a new dock is definitely the way to go. What do ya say, boys? All in favor, say Aye.” Everyone cheered in agreement. “Decision unanimous. Motion carried.” Then he banged down with a gavel he got from out of nowhere.

“Looks like it’s settled then,” said Gloriosa.

“Looks like it,” said Timber.

“Sheesh. It’s like those guys are carbon molecules in diamonds,” said Shadow.

“That’s some tension, all right,” said Sunset. Later on, the students were ripping up the old dock and planning a design for the new one as Silver was sketching it out.

“We can probably reinforce the foundation,” said Twilight.

“Get it good and stable,” said Knuckles.

“And we can add a wood-carved sign with the camp’s name on it,” said Shadow.

“And little boxes of food so you can feed the ducks and fishies,” said Fluttershy.

“Oh! We’ll add lanterns so you can see at night,” said Rainbow.

“All right,” he said noticing an error before erasing it. “Oop. Hang on. Aaannnd… Ta-da!” Then he showed everyone the sketch of what the new dock might look like. Shaped kind of like a backward sideways lowercase N with a sign at the front, ropes on the posts for hand-rails, and lanterns on the tops of the posts. “What do you guys think?”

“It’s stunning!” said Rarity. “And will make an absolutely perfect runway for my camp fashion show!”

“More importantly,” said Applejack, getting back on track. “It’ll be a great place for dockin’ canoes and feedin’ the wildlife.”

“You say tomato… I say perfect place to showcase glamorous boho-chic stylings,” said Rarity.

“You are just obsessed with this fashion show thing, aren’t you?” asked Sonic. Then Celestia and Luna walked up.

“What do you think?” asked Twilight, as Silver showed them the sketch.

“Well, it’s going to be a lot of work, but we can do it!” said Celestia.

“YES! ADULT SUPERVISION!” said Pinkie.

“Dude, that stuff’s boring sometimes,” said Manic. “I say the more likely you are to chop off a hand with a chainsaw, the better.”

“Your brother is a little insane. You know that right?” asked Luna.

“Ah relax. We Mobians all have healing factors. We can get our whole bodies blown up and we can just regenerate from our heads,” said Sonic. “It’s kinda gross really.” Later, everyone was building up the new dock as Knuckles hauled in a new batch of lumber.

“Fresh cut pine, comin’ through!” he said as he saw Rainbow and Applejack getting some more boards in place.

“Nice hammer. Where’d ya get it?” asked Applejack.

“Uh, the toolbox?” said Rainbow.

“Heh, that’s cute,” said Applejack, holding up a handmade one. “I made mine.”

“Way to show off, Macgyver,” said Manic, as he looked through a book he brought along.

“Eh. Ya don’t need tools when you’ve got sharpened quills and super strength,” said Knuckles. Then Sonic and Twilight saw Timber doing something interesting.

“Making lanterns out of solar-powered garden lamps?” asked Twilight. “Pretty crafty there, Timber.”

“You think that’s crafty? You should see my macaroni art,” said Timber. “I don’t brag, but I’m like the Picasso of noodles.”

“Seems likely. With pasta, anyone could make some sort of Picasso-esque masterpiece,” said Sonic.

“All right everyone,” said Celestia. “We’ve made a lot of progress, but it’s going to be getting dark soon. We can pick this up tomorrow between other activities.”

“Everyone get cleaned up and we’ll gather by the fire pit at eight to share smores and scary stories,” said Gloriosa. Shadow smirked.

“Hope you brought a change of pants, cause when I let loose one of my stories, you’re gonna need it,” he said.

“SMORES!” Pinkie shrieked.

“Where the hell did she come from?” asked Sonic.

“How should I know?” asked Manic.

“It’s probably better if we don’t question it,” said Shadow.


	5. The True Legend

That night, everyone gathered at the fire to hear scary stories. Shadow had held his own through all of them, and right now they were near the end of Rarity’s.

“And that’s when she looked down and realized she was wearing purple socks with a burgundy dress!” she said. Sonic was just sitting near the fire roasting a hotdog and yawned.

“Seriously?” he asked. “I've had Thursday mornings scarier than that,” Then he took his hotdog out of the fire and bit on it, burning his tongue. “Ow! Hot.”

“Uh, yeah. That was a terrifying story,” said Applejack.

“Pfft. Yeah. I’m terrified she’ll try and tell it again,” whispered Knuckles.

“Ahem. Anyone else?” asked Luna. Shadow was about to speak when Timber raised his hand.

“I have one,” he said. “But I’m warning you, you might as well hug a friend now. It’s that terrifying.”

“Try me,” said Shadow.

“Very well,” said Timber. “I think it’s time I told you about the Legend of Gaea Everfree.”

“Well, don’t just keep us in suspense. Tell it,” said Sonic.

“With pleasure,” said Timber. “Many years ago, my great grandparents, Old Spice and Dove, came to this spot in the forest. Seeing the beauty of the valley, they decided it would be the perfect place for a camp.

“But once they started construction, strange things started to happen. Wood-cutting rigs were ripped apart and landslides occurred for seemingly no reason. They were both incredibly confused until one pitch black night, as the wind howled through the trees, a tree branch flew from its trunk and smashed through the roof of their cabin!”

“They screamed and ran outside, only to see a giant creature rising up from the earth! Her hair was wild like the roots of a tree, her teeth were jagged rocks, and her eyes pits of black tar, but she gave off an aura shimmering like diamonds, and anywhere she went, a trail of gem dust fell in her wake.”

“Trembling, my grandmother asked her who she was, what she wanted. In a deep and hollow voice, she told them her name was Gaea Everfree, an ancient spirit, and guardian of the woods. And that my great-grandparents were trespassing on her land, and that if they didn’t leave soon, they, their descendants, and anyone else who entered the forest would be cursed for eternity.”

“They begged her to let them stay and postpone laying her curse, to share this beautiful corner of the land with others. After a while, Gaea finally conceded, but warned them that they wouldn’t be free from her wrath forever. Someday, she would return and reclaim the woods as her own.”

“So if you see a trail of gem dust anytime during your stay here,” finished Timber. “You’ll know for certain it’s— Gaea Everfree!” Then a pair of eyes appeared above him. Nearly everyone screamed, even Shadow, who felt around on his belt for his Marine Force Recon 16” Survival Knife, but then everyone relaxed when the eyes were revealed to be those of Gloriosa, who walked out from the bushes.

“Hey, guys! Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” she said.

“ _Whew. That was **way** too close._” thought Shadow as he took his hand off the handle of his knife.

“Then why’d you come out of the bushes?” asked Sunset.

“Yeah, seems like a pretty ample spook-spot to me,” said Sonic as he ate his now cooled hotdog.

“I took the scenic route because the forest is beautiful at night,” said Gloriosa, trying (and failing) to hide something.

“But no one else should do it without a guide. ‘Kay?” she quickly added.

“Yeah, yeah. We got you,” said Knuckles.

“All right, everybody. Head on back to the tents,” said Gloriosa. Everyone did when Snips and Snails started asking for extra toothbrushes and flashlights. Then Knuckles threw him a stick with one end of it ablaze.

“Just as good,” he said. “When you’re done with it, just chuck it in the lake.” Then the three left and Tails noticed Fluttershy was holding onto Spike kind of tightly.

“Fluttershy…” he strained.

“Sorry Spike,” she said, putting him down. “I guess that story got to me.”

“Oh please,” said Knuckles. “It can’t be real.”

“I dunno,” said Rainbow. “Gaea Everfree could be some monster that got booted from Equestria and ended up in this world.”

“She might be right,” said Sonic. “That’s what happened with the Sirens after all.”

“Eh. Sounded more like somethin’ Timber was makin’ up just to spook us,” said Applejack. “At least… I hope that’s what it was.”

“Agreed. Last thing I want is camp wrecked by some power-crazed magic demon,” said Knuckles.

“Hear, hear,” said Rarity. “We’ve had to deal with more than our fair share of those.”

“Yeah, let’s see,” counted Sonia. “The Fall Formal, the showcase, the Friendship Ga…” Then she saw Twilight acting all insecure. “Well I mean, everything turned out all right, naturally.” She managed a weak laugh, but Twilight was still sore about the you-know-what.

“I’m kinda tired,” she said. “I’m gonna turn in.” And with that, she walked back to the tents.

“Might wanna lay off bringing up what happened at the Friendship Games,” said Shadow. “Something tells me she’s still pretty sensitive about it.” Pinkie rubbed a warm marshmallow along her mouth as a make-shift muffler.

“Our lips are sealed,” she said. Everyone just looked at her like she was weird. Which she kind of was.


	6. Nature is Weird

Early the next morning, Sonic, Twilight, and Sunset were out cold in their tent, with Sonic sprawled on his bunk, under Twilight’s above the covers snoring. Twilight meanwhile was having another nightmare. She was sitting next to a fire in the middle of the night when she heard something.

“Here I am,” said a voice. Twilight looked around but she didn’t see anyone. “Over here,” the voice said again. Then the fire turned bright purple and Midnight shot out of it. “I’M ALWAYS HERE!” she shouted in Twilight’s face.

“No!” Twilight cried as she woke up.

Sonic snorted and stuck his head up, Twilight’s cry rousing him from his sleep. “Huh?”

Sunset quickly, but groggily got up and got into a karate pose. “What happened?” she asked with her eyes closed.

“Nothing,” said Twilight. “Sorry guys.” Then Sonic yawned and sat up, scratching his stomach.

“Welp, I’m going for some brekkie,” he said as he pushed himself off his bunk, expecting his feet to land on the floor right away, but he missed and fell flat on his face. Somehow. “OW!”

After seeing that, Sunset rubbed her eyes and looked at Twilight’s bed with a look of shock on her face.

“Uh, Twilight?” she said. “I think something happened.” Sonic looked and saw that Twilight’s bed was levitating.

“AAAAHH!” she cried as she dropped to the ground and the tremor partially woke up Spike.

“Is it time to get up already?” he asked falling asleep again.

“Twilight, we can’t just pretend this isn’t happening,” said Sonic. “We have to tell the others.”

“No. We don’t,” said Twilight. Later that day, a cross-eyed blonde named Ditzy Doo and green haired eco-kid named Sandalwood were out on the lake in a boat, but the wind was dead. Ditzy was trying to get it going again by blowing into the sail, but it didn’t work. (Big surprise there). Good news was that work on the dock was going extremely well as Sonic and the girls walked up. Twilight still refused to talk about the levitation thing.

“Listen, I know you don’t want to, but I really think we need to figure out what’s going on with your magic,” said Sunset.

“She’s right,” said Sonic. “I mean, if you could learn to control it--”

“But that’s just it,” said Twilight. “I’ll never be able to control it!” Then out of nowhere, Sonic heard something from the dock. Something that sounded like a splintering crash.

“What the heck?!” he said as he and the girls looked. The dock was wrecked. Ditzy and Sandalwood’s boat had crashed straight into it out of nowhere.

“What happened?” asked Rainbow.

“No idea,” said Sonic.

“I didn’t mean to…” said Twilight before she stopped herself.

“We didn’t see anything. So we don’t know what happened,” said Sunset. Quickly, she, Rainbow and Sonic raced over to help them. Twilight looked at her hands, but then followed.

“You alright, dude?” asked Sonic, helping Sandalwood up.

“Yeah. It was so weird,” he said. “We were just stranded in the middle of the lake with no wind, then all of a sudden, BAM! The wind picked up and we got pushed straight into the dock,”

“Man, that’s weird,” said Sonic. Then he heard Pinkie gasp.

“You don’t think it was the spirit, do you?” she asked.

“No. It was me,” said Twilight quietly as she walked away, not relying on Sonic’s keen ears.

“Spirit! Show yourself!” said Trixie. “The Great and Powerful Trixie commands it!”

“Shut the hell up, Trixie,” said Shadow. “You know as well as everyone else does that you’re a complete sham.”

“Did I ask for your opinion?” asked Trixie.

“No, but I’m pretty sure you just asked for a knife in your gut,” he said, drawing his survival knife, and holding it by the blade. “Unless I heard you wrong.” Trixie quickly hid behind a bush. “That’s what I thought,” said Shadow as he put his knife away.

“Besides, do you want to be cursed?” asked Silver.

“What’s that?” asked Rarity. Everyone directed their attention to a part of the lake that had what looked like gem dust floating in it.

“Probably just a coincidence,” said Manic.

“Ugh! Man!” said Rainbow. “All our hard work. Ruined!”

“At least the fishies are eating well,” said Fluttershy, referring to the fish in the pond, eating gem dust from the water.

“Pretty sure that would be poisonous.” said Tails.

“We’ll salvage all we can from the lake,” said Sonic. “We might still have time to fix it.”

“We have to try!” said Rarity. “Camp Everfree needs a runway!”

“Dock,” corrected Applejack.

“Dock. Yes, that’s what I meant,” said Rarity.

“Oh yeah? Sure didn’t sound like it.” said Knuckles. Then Sonic saw Twilight running away into the woods. He wanted to call out to her, but he decided against it. Soon Twilight came to an isolated area of the woods with a small pool.

**(Play “The Midnight in Me” – Original Movie)**

_Twilight: It used to be so simple_   
_It was a world I understood_   
_I didn't know what I didn't know_   
_And life seemed pretty good_

She sat on a fallen log and felt Midnight’s dark power again, seeing her wings in her reflection in the pool. She quickly checked to make sure she didn’t really have them, thanking herself that she didn’t.

_But now the darkness rises_   
_From somewhere deep inside of me…_   
_Her power overtakes me_   
_Can I keep this midnight from getting free?_

_If I can stay with the light_   
_I know I'll be free_   
_And I can start to be whole_   
_I can start to be me_

Then her reflection warped to that of Midnight Sparkle. Quickly, she struck the pool and it returned to normal, but she was still scared.

_But instead I am struggling_   
_With all that I see_   
_And these friends…_   
_Mustn't see the midnight in me!_   
_The midnight in me!_

_They mustn't see the midnight in me…_

Sonic heard her singing and it sounded like the voice of an angel, but he didn’t find her to tell her.

**Which in my books is a missed opportunity, man. I mean, seriously. Listen to the real song here. Rebecca Shoichet has a beautiful singing voice.**

Meanwhile, Sunset and Sonic were looking around for her near the tents. Sonic poked his head into their tents expecting her to be there but he didn’t see her. He did see Spike though, who was sleeping and dreaming about chasing squirrels.

“Hey, Spikster. Wake up,” he said, shaking his dog bed. He yelped a bit as he woke up but then groaned.

“Aw man. I was having the best dream,” he said before he realized something. “Wait. That dream could be a reality.” He was about to bound out of the tent when Sonic grabbed him.

“Whoa there, Hot Shot,” he said. “Before you go off to chase squirrels, you got any idea where Twilight is? Sunset and I need to talk to her.”

“Why? What happened?” asked Spike. “Did she do that whole lifting things off the ground thing again?”

“That’s the thing,” said Sonic. “We aren’t sure it was her. But if it was, we gotta deal with it head-on.”

“I can track her down,” said Spike. Quickly, he led Sonic and Sunset into the forest, where she was talking to herself.

“Keep it together. Deep breaths,” she said. “You are not a monster.” Then she ran into Timber. They both yelped.

“Oh hi,” said Twilight. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh…” he said, thinking of an excuse. “Looking for you.”

“Oh. I just… went on a walk and got a little lost,” said Twilight.

“Lemme show you the way,” said Timber. “I’m kind of an expert at these woods. I’ve lived here my whole life.”

“That must’ve been nice, growing up on a camp,” said Twilight.

“Yeah, though it has its downsides,” he said. (Probably aside from no wi-fi.) “When I was younger, I wished we’d sell this place so we could live in town like normal people.”

“Really?” asked Twilight.

“I was ten,” said Timber. “I really wanted to hang out at the mall.” After that, they both chuckled for a bit before Timber got serious and they both started blushing. “I’ve never told that to anyone. You must be special.” Then he saw something. “And not because you have a tree branch in your hair.” And indeed; he then yanked the aforementioned twig from her head.

“Ugh. How long has that been there?” asked Twilight.

“Not long,” said Timber. “Just the whole time we were talking.” Then Twilight whacked him with her elbow.

“Why didn’t you say something?” she asked. What neither of them knew was that Sonic, Sunset, and Spike were spying on them.

“I guess we could help Twilight deal with the magic stuff a little later,” said Sunset.

“Heh. Yeah, she’s already got her hands full with Romeo over there.” Sonic said and chuckled.


	7. More New Magic

Back at camp, students were already getting up on the rock-climbing wall.

“Rock climbing is all about perseverance and trust,” said Celestia. “Rarity, you can trust that Applejack will spot you.”

“Yeah, so you can totally go faster than you’re going,” said Rainbow.

“Geez Rainbow, what the heck?” asked Knuckles.

“Sorry. I’ve been waiting to do this since we got here!” said Rainbow.

“Well, you’ll have to wait a little longer, darling,” said Rarity as she started up.

“Need some pointers?” asked Shadow, who was halfway up and didn’t have a harness on.

“Not from someone as on the edge as you,” she said. “You could fall and hurt yourself.”

“Oh please,” said Shadow dismissively. “There’s a rock-wall at G.U.N. HQ and I’m a pro at it. I don’t need a spotter. Everyone else, on the other hand, not so much.”

“Very well. What pointers do you have for me?” asked Rarity.

“Aim for the rocks with more foothold first,” said Shadow. “Once you’ve gotten past those, you’re good as gold.” Then Twilight and Timber walked up on the ground, getting Rainbow excited.

“Oh good! Twilight, if you spot me, I can finally go!” she said. “I’ll go get another harness.” Then she zipped off to do so.

“Um, I’m not sure--” began Twilight.

“I’d better make sure my sister doesn’t need anything,” said Timber. “See ya later?” The two stared at each other longingly as Timber left. Then Sunset, Sonic, and Spike emerged from the forest.

“Twilight! There you are. We were looking for you,” said Sonic. “Look, I know you don’t wanna talk about it, but-” Then out of nowhere, the ground rumbled loudly, wobbling everyone around like bobbleheads.

“Was that an earthquake?” asked Spike.

“We aren’t near any fault lines,” said Twilight.

“She’s right,” said Knuckles as he walked up. “I checked with my seismic imaging and the nearest one is hundreds of miles away.”

“Well, what could’ve caused that tremor?” asked Sonic.

“Your guess is as good as mine here, man,” said the echidna.

“Hey!” shouted the big guy. “Who left this crystally dusty stuff here?” Shadow zipped over and scrapped the shimmering grit up.

“Gem dust,” he said.

“Okay, this is weird,” said Sonia. “First, gem dust appears after the boat crashed into the dock, and then now?”

“You’re right, Sonia,” said Sonic. “This can’t be coincidence.” Then Rarity lost her grip on the wall and slid down a bit. She flailed around before she quickly snuggled up and grabbed the rope.

“I believe I’d like to come down now!” she said. Applejack gave her a thumbs-up and pulled on the rope, but she found it was jammed.

“Sorry! It’s a little bit stuck!” she called up before her hands suddenly glowed orange as she pulled down hard on the rope, shooting Rarity up to the top of the wall without even trying, making her shriek. She took her hands off the rope for a second before Knuckles quickly grabbed the rope and kept Rarity from slamming into the ground.

“APPLEJACK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” asked Rarity.

“Is everything ok over there?” asked Celestia.

“Uh, I think so,” said Knuckles as he let Rarity down. “What the hell was that?”

“I dunno what happened,” said Applejack. “I didn’t even pull the rope that hard. It’s like she was light as a feather all of a sudden.”

“I was scared half to death!” said Rarity as she fiddled with her harness.

“It wasn’t her fault,” said Knuckles. “Need a hand with the harness?”

“No thank you!” said Rarity as she tried to push them away. Then a large gem-like shield shot out of her hands and slammed into Knuckles and Applejack, shoving them all the way to the river. They walked back unamused spitting out water.

“Okay, I get why that whatever-it-was hit Jackie, but why me?” asked Knuckles.

“What in the world just happened?” asked Celestia.

“More importantly, what in the name of Hans Christian Anderson is going on here?” asked Silver.

“Oh dear,” said Rarity as she looked at her hands. “I am so sorry. I think. Did I just do… whatever that was?”

“Kinetic gem shields. Would fit your character,” said Silver.

“I don’t think it was your fault,” said Twilight quietly.

“What?” asked Shadow.

“I’m gonna go get Applejack a towel,” said Twilight.

“I’ll go too. Knuckles needs one too,” said Sonic. Then as they walked on, Sunset and Sonic got excited.

“You’re not the only one with a new kind of magic!” said Sunset. “This is great!”

“No, it’s not!” said Twilight. “The others could’ve really hurt each other. Why is this happening? I don’t--”

“Hi guys!” said Gloriosa. “Anything I can do for you?”

“Knuckles and Applejack just fell into the lake,” said Twilight.

“Oh no! They’re gonna need warm towels, dry clothes, and some hot cocoa. I got this!” she said and left to find them.

Then the others heard a loud explosion and a scream coming from the mess hall. “Fluttershy?!” they asked each other and raced over. When they opened the door, they saw the whole room was splattered with what looked like cookie dough, as were Fluttershy, Pinkie, Tails, and Manic.

“What the hell happened here?” asked Sonic.

“Search me,” said Tails. “We were just decorating cookies…”

“And I was all ‘You need more sprinkles and you need more sprinkles’!” said Pinkie.

“So, standard Pinkie Pie stuff,” said Sunset.

“Pretty much,” said Manic.

“I was just tossing sprinkles to Fluttershy when all of a sudden,” she said, pulling a hand full out of a bottle. “They glowed pink and exploded!” Then she tossed the sprinkles into the air.

“Wait what?” asked Sonic as the sprinkles did exactly that, splattering dough all over the others and messing up their hair.

Then Pinkie shook her hair clean like a dog. “Just like that, only earlier.” Then she leaned against the table.

“Okay, why don’t you lay off touching stuff for a while?” recommended Sonic, moving her hand.

“Probably a good call,” said Tails. “Odds are the bigger the mass, the bigger the boom.”

“Oh dear,” said Fluttershy. “We really should clean all this up.” Then she walked over to the shelf to grab some paper towels, but they were too high for her. Tails tried to help, but he couldn’t fly too high in an enclosed space or he might crash.

“Can someone help me out?” asked Fluttershy. Then out of nowhere, a small robin flew up and grabbed the towels for her before it landed on her finger. “Thank you, Mr. Bird.” The bird twittered to her, and somehow, she could understand it. “Why of course I can get you a little something to-” Then she gasped in realization. “Did you just talk?” The bird chirped to her. “But I don’t speak ‘chirp’.” The bird chirped again. “I don’t know if you’re the only bird I can understand.” Then it tweeted loudly. “Oh no. Please don’t call your friends.” Then out of nowhere, a huge mass of birds came in and landed on Fluttershy’s arms. “It’s nice to meet all of you too.”

“Maybe I read ‘Snow White’ to Cream too many times, but were you just talking to the birds, Fluttershy?” asked Sonic.

“Um, yes?” she replied unsurely. Then the door slammed open revealing Rarity, Silver, Knuckles, and Applejack, scaring the birds off.

“Did ya tell ‘em what happened?” asked Applejack. “So. Crazy. I hoisted Rarity up the rock-climbin’ wall like it was nothin’.”

“It was almost like she had even more strength than she usually does,” said Knuckles.

“And then Rarity generated a kinetic gem shield from thin air,” said Silver.

“Which normally I’d be excited about,” she said. “I mean the facets were just perfect and the--”

“Rarity.” said Knuckles.

“Oop. Sorry,” she said stopping herself. “It knocked Knuckles and Applejack over and then it disappeared.”

“Speakin’ of disappearin’, has anybody seen Rainbow Dash?” asked Applejack.

“Not since the rock wall,” said Sonic. Then a rainbow-colored streak shot through the door, instantly drying Applejack’s, and Knuckles’ hair. Then it smashed into the wall, revealing it to be Rainbow before she fell to the floor.

“Found her,” said Manic.

“OOOOW!” she said, getting up.

“Whoa! How the hell did you do that?” asked Sonic, helping her up.

“I don’t know!” she said. “I started running to get the harness and the next thing I knew, I was practically back in town!”

“You have super speed,” said Sonic. “That might mean you have a connection to the Speed Force.”

“But if you had some sort of super speed, why were you gone for so long?” asked Rarity.

“Because I lost it when I got far away!” she explained. “And then it came back when I got close to camp.”

“That doesn’t make sense. What’s causing it?” asked Sonic. Then Pinkie Pie gasped.

“Being at camp is giving us all new magical abilities!” she said.

“That seems likely.” said Tails.

“Not all of us have gotten new abilities,” said Sunset. “I haven’t.”

“Yeah, but Twilight…” began Sonic before she shook her head. “Hasn’t either.”

“Well, I guess my theory that leaving CHS meant leaving any new magic behind just went down the toilet,” said Knuckles.

“Something at the camp must be making this happen,” pondered Sunset.

“Um, Gaea Everfree?” asked Fluttershy.

“Doubt it,” said Tails. Then the door opened and revealed a strange shape that looked a lot like Gaea. “Right. Strike that; panic time!” But it was just Gloriosa carrying a pile of towels.

“Applejack, Knuckles, I was looking for you!” she said. “Here, I brought you some towels and dry clothes.”

“No need. I’m used to the feel of cold water,” said Knuckles. “Speaking of which, I think I might be able to skip my shower today.” Then Gloriosa looked around and saw the mess.

“Uh, what happened in here?” she asked.

“We’re kinda trying to figure that out ourselves,” said Sonic.

“Well, don’t worry about it,” she said. “I got this!” Then Sandalwood shot in.

“Gloriosa, I kicked my beanbag into the lake,” he said. Gloriosa’s eye started twitching and Sonic just stared at him dismally.

“Okay, two things,” he said. “One; you brought a beanbag with you? And two; are you serious?”

“I’ll get you another one,” said Gloriosa.

“And I’m all out of arrows,” said Ditzy, holding up a handful of broken arrows. Then Shadow saw how her bow was strung.

“Well, no wonder,” he said. “You’re stringing them backward.” Quickly, he flipped the arrow around and shot a bullseye from five meters away without looking. “180 no-scope. No fatalities.”

“Sweg,” said Manic, giving him a Brofist.

“Say no more,” said Gloriosa. “New arrows coming right up!” Then Timber showed up.

“There you are,” he said and walked over to his sister. “Filthy Rich is back. You want me to handle it?” he whispered.

“Absolutely not,” she returned. “I’ve got this!” Then she walked away, patting Sunset’s arm. Then she heard some sort of screaming that she thought was Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, enough with the screaming,” she said. Everyone just looked at her weird.

“I didn’t scream,” she said.

“For once,” said Rainbow.

“Nobody did,” said Rarity.

“Huh?” said Sunset thoughtfully.

“You feeling okay?” asked Sonic. Then Celestia turned on the p.a.

“Attention campers,” she said. “Anyone interested in making floating paper lanterns, please meet us by the picnic tables.”

“Well, Ah don’t know ‘bout the rest of y’all, but I’ve been looking forward to comin’ here for a month,” said Applejack.

“Yeah, maybe we can just forget about this whole ‘new magic’ junk for a while and just focus on having fun here,” said Knuckles.

“I was oh-so-excited about the designs I’ve come up with for the camp fashion show,” said Rarity.

“And I’ve barely gotten to whoop anybody in tetherball,” said Rainbow.

“Well, if you ask me, I think we should try to figure this out,” said Sunset. “But if letting it go for now is what the rest of you want…”

“It is,” said Silver. Later, they were all over making paper lanterns when Rarity noticed Pinkie doing something odd.

“Um, Pinkie Pie, what are you doing?” she asked.

“Putting marshmallows in my lantern,” she said. “Then when we light them, mine’ll be beautiful and delicious!” Sonic swirled his finger next to his head with a loco look on his face. “I saw that.”

“Saw what?” said Sonic, going back to his lantern.

“You think I have a clock in my head, right?” asked Pinkie.

“ _What?_ Naaaah,” he said. Then he noticed Twilight and Spike were alone at a different table. He strained himself to hear what they were talking about.

“Hey Twilight. Why aren’t you with everyone else?” asked Spike.

“Sunset said something at camp is causing the other girls to get new magic,” she said. “I think it’s Midnight Sparkle. She’s still part of me; I can feel it. And I think her magic is infecting my friends.”

“What are we gonna do?” asked Spike.

“I don’t know what I _can_ do,” said Twilight.

“Okay everyone!” called Gloriosa. “It’s time to watch your lanterns fly.” Everyone brought their lanterns over to the dock when Twilight bumped into Timber.

“Hey, cool lantern,” he said, before showing her his. “Mine’s my face.” Twilight chuckled nervously before she continued to the dock.

“Uh, you okay?” asked Timber.

“Mm-hm,” she replied.

“You don’t seem like yourself tonight,” said Timber. Twilight didn’t say anything.  She just let Principal Celestia light the tealight in her lantern, making it give off a warm comforting glow, which made her feel a little better.

“Ready? And… Go!” said Gloriosa. Everyone let their lanterns hover up like fireflies. Except Pinkie’s which fell to the ground with a splat.

“Aw! Oh well. Now I get to eat it!” said Pinkie and she yanked the squishy marshmallows off the paper. “Yep. Beautiful and delicious.” The lanterns that actually got airborne shone like stars in the night sky, making everyone happy they came.


	8. Power of the Setting Sun

**Ch. 8: Power of the Setting Sun**

Later that night, Sunset was just about to drift off into dreamland when she heard the front of the tent open. She saw that Sonic was still in his bunk, snoring loud enough to wake the dead, so when she saw Twilight’s bunk was empty she was surprised.

“Twilight?” she said quietly. She peeked out of the tent and saw her and Spike running away. “Twilight!” Quickly, she got dressed and followed her into the woods. “Where is she going?” Then she heard something in the bushes. “Twilight?”

She stopped and slowly turned around to face Sunset. “What are you doing out here?” asked Sunset.

“We’re… We’re meeting a cab to take us home,” said Twilight. Sunset looked at Spike with an expression that simply read " _What?_ "

“She thought you’d talk her out of it,” he said.

“Because I would,” said Sunset. “Twilight, you can’t leave.” Then she grabbed her forearm. Once she did, her eyes glowed bright white.

Back at camp, Silver’s eyes shot open and he ran outside, screaming, and grasping his head in pain. Sonic and the others quickly came out to check on him.

“Silver, what’s wrong?” asked Knuckles.

“I’m… I’m having… a vision.” he groaned. Then his eyes flashed aqua and he saw something.

**Inside Sunset and Silver’s Minds**

_First, it flashed back to what happened when the boat crashed into the dock._

_“You don’t think it was the spirit, do you?” asked Pinkie._

_“No. It was me,” said Twilight quietly._

_Then it flashed ahead to earlier that evening._

_“I think it’s Midnight Sparkle. She’s still part of me; I can feel it. And I think her magic is infecting my friends.” said Twilight._

**Back in Real Life**

Silver took his hands off his head as the vision settled.

“What did you see?” asked Shadow.

“I- I can’t really explain it,” he said. “But I think Sunset just developed her new power. Empathetic telepathy.” Back with Twilight and Sunset, Sunset’s eyes returned to normal as she let go of Twilight’s arm.

“Twilight, there is no ‘Midnight Sparkle’,” she said. “There’s only you.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?” asked Twilight.

“When I touched your hand, I could see things. I could understand why you were leaving,” said Sunset. Then it hit her. “My new magic! This is my new magic! This is incredible!”

“No. It’s not! I’m infecting you now!” said Twilight.

“Twilight, you have to stop looking at this as a bad thing,” said Sunset.

“Easy for you to say,” said Twilight. “The magic turned you into something beautiful. Last time I tried to use it, it turned me into a monster. I’m just so afraid it’s going to happen again.”

“Yes. Last time, I turned into something amazing, but I’ve let magic turn me into a monster too,” said Sunset. “So if anyone understands what you’re going through, it’s me. I can help you, Twilight. And the rest of our friends can be there for you too. But not if you run away.”

Twilight sighed realizing she was right. “Fine. I’ll stay,” she said. “But I still don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be near the rest of our friends right now. Not until we know why this is happening.”

“Understood,” said Sunset. Then they heard a twig break in the woods. “What was that?” Then an ax was raised from somewhere and gleamed in the moonlight. The girls screamed at seeing it, as did the one wielding it as he saw the girls.

“Wait,” he said. “Twilight?” Then he stepped out to reveal himself as…

“Timber?” she asked. “I’m so glad it’s just you.” Then something struck her. “Wait. What are you doing out here?”

“With an ax?” Sunset clarified.

“I was chopping down firewood,” he said, rolling out a wagon full of lumber.

“In the middle of the night?” asked Sunset suspiciously.

“We needed more for tomorrow night’s fire,” said Timber. “And if I didn’t take care of it tonight, it would be one more thing Gloriosa would add to her list.” Then he imitated her saying what she said about every problem that ever came up. “‘I got this’!” He and Twilight chuckled, but Sunset was still suspicious.

“What about you two?” he asked. “Why are you hanging out in the woods in the middle of the night?”

“Oh, I was sleepwalking,” said Sunset. “Twilight found me and was bringing me back to camp.”

“M-hmm.” she agreed with Sunset’s story.

“Cmon, I’ll walk you guys back,” said Timber. “I’ll protect you from… Gaea Everfree… Everfree…Everfree.”

“Get real,” came a voice. They all looked and saw Sonic without his shirt on. “We all know that’s hokum you made up to spook us at the campfire.”

“Oh no, Blue Boy,” replied Timber. “It’s legit. How else would you explain what happened at the docks? Or that weird thing where the earth shook.”

“Random currents and a boulder rolling down from the mountain,” said Sonic.

“Cmon. I know a shortcut back to the tents,” said Timber, taking Twilight’s hands. Sunset still didn’t trust him. Then she saw something spill from his back pocket. Something familiarly sparkly.

“Hello. What have we here?” said Sonic as he scraped it up. “Legit, eh? Lady and gentledog, I think we just found our ‘Gaea Everfree’.”

“But why would he work so hard to make us think she was real?” asked Spike.

“You heard what he said about wishing his sister would sell this camp,” said Sunset.

“If nobody wants to come because the woods are home to some angry forest spirit, I’d bet you clams to casino it’d help his cause,” Sonic smirked.

“We should tell Twilight,” said Spike.

“Whoa, not yet, Turbo,” said Sonic. “It’s pretty clear she’s going through a lot right now. We’d better be two-hundred percent positive before we tell her the guy she likes is an asshole trying to run everyone out of camp.”

“Good call,” said Spike.


	9. Embrace the Magic

The next morning, the others were working on the dock, and were slow-going it, since they didn’t want to mess anything up with their powers. Rainbow was walking slower than she was used to while carrying a pile of lumber before she noticed something.

“Uh, you gonna give us a hand here, Rarity?” asked Rainbow.

“Uh yeah,” said Manic as he whistled to them. “A little help here.”

“Would love to, but I really need to get the stitching on this poncho done if it’s going to make it into the camp fashion show. Though at the pace you two are moving, I don’t know that the runway will ever be finished.”

“The dock is our gift to the camp,” said Applejack. “And it’s gonna get finished.”

“Would be going faster if Rainbow would hurry up with the lumber,” said Knuckles.

“I can’t go any faster,” said Rainbow. “I don’t wanna end up in the woods again.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Applejack.

“Seriously?” asked Rainbow as she mimicked Applejack, who was tapping a nail in the dock.

Applejack sighed and wiped her brow. “Ah know Ah said we should try to forget all about this new magic business, but Ah can’t,” she said. “What if Ah hammer the board to splinters?”

“Well, on the upside, the camp would have a lot more toothpicks,” joked Silver. Then Applejack looked around.

“Aw dang it, Ah’m all outta nails,” she said.

“Oh! Here ya go!” said Pinkie, tossing her a box.

“Pinkie, no!” shouted everyone.

“Hit the deck!” shouted Shadow. Rarity quickly raised more gem shields, knocking Rainbow and Fluttershy over. But nothing happened. The box didn’t explode.

“Phew,” said Manic, before she looked at Pinkie. “Are you insane?!”

“What?” asked Pinkie. “Oh, did you think the nails would explode like the sprinkles? Wow. Glad that didn’t happen, huh?”

“You must only be able to detonate items with sugar in them,” said Tails. “I might need to run some tests.”

“Ugh,” said Sonia as she looked at her hand. “And to add insult to injury, I broke a nail.”

“Sorry girls,” said Rarity, helping Fluttershy and Rainbow up. “I didn’t mean to… I don’t know how to control this.”

“It’s fine,” said Rainbow.

“None of us do,” said Fluttershy.

“Which is exactly why we can’t keep ignoring this like it’s nothing,” said Sonic as he and Sunset walked up.

“Do you have them now too, Sunset?” asked Rainbow.

“Yeah, it started last night. When I touch people, it’s like I can feel what they’re feeling and see their memories,” she said.

“There’s actually a term for that,” said Silver. “Empathetic telepathy. And the weird thing is, I think I have some sort of mind-link to you and I can see whatever you’re seeing.”

“Oooh. Fancy. Try me! Try me!” said Pinkie as she touched Sunset’s hand to her face.

“Uh, I don’t think that’s advisable- WHOA!” shouted Silver as his and Sunset’s eyes started glowing.

**In their Minds**

It was a giant world of craziness and living candy creatures that Pinkie was spiking leisurely through.

“La, la-la, la-la.” she sang. “Ooh, taffy!” She grabbed a giant blue flower petal and took a big bite out of it, leaving it splattered all over her face.

**Back in Real Life**

When Pinkie removed Sunset’s hand from her face, she and Silver just stood dumbfounded and evidently, disturbed.

“That explains so much,” said Sunset simply.

“Yup!” said Pinkie as she zipped off.

“What was it like in there, dude?” asked Manic.

“You don’t wanna know,” responded Silver.

“Listen guys, we can’t just put these powers on the back burner because it doesn’t seem like the ideal time for you to get them,” said Sonic as he pulled out his guitar, set to acoustic mode, and started playing.

“He’s right,” said Sunset. “What if it turns out that they could actually make things better?”

**(Play “Embrace the Magic” – Sunset Shimmer – Original Movie)**

_Sonic: So you have magic_   
_And it's not that great_   
_But when it found you_   
_You know it was fate_

_Sunset: And it might seem scary now_   
_But it can be wonderful, too_   
_So how about we embrace the magic_

_Both: And make the magic part of you?_

Later on, the girls were using their powers for everything from building benches and the sign to saving civilians. Plus, the rest of the Underground joined in on the song.

_Sunset: You take a little dash of magic_   
_And you let it ignite_   
_Mix things up a little bit_   
_And it might start to go right_

_Sonic: In just five seconds flat_   
_How the story has changed_   
_All 'cause now you've embraced the magic_

_Both: And it just got better in every way_

The two walked to the end of the dock and were surrounded by brightly colored magical auras. Sonic’s was blue and sparkling red, while Sunset’s was purple and sparkling gold.

_Both: I say embrace the magic_   
_No more holding back, just let it out_   
_If you can take the magic_   
_And learn a little more what it can do_   
_Once the magic is part of you_

_Sonic: What's standing in your way_   
_That you can't move today?_

_Sunset: You've got the strength in you_   
_To make your dreams come true_

_Sonic: No need to shield yourself_   
_From the magic that can help_

_Both: Protect from any harm that might come_

Later on, Fluttershy had a vine of flowers in her hands that she wanted to hang on the sign, but she didn’t know how to reach that high. Sonic and Sunset decided to comfort her.

_Sonic: So you have magic_   
_And it's not that great_

_Sunset: But when it found you_   
_You know it was fate_

Then a little bird flew over and twittered to her. She smiled and gave it the flowers. Then it flew up to wrap them around the sign.

_Both: So if you listen close_   
_You might make a new friend_   
_And together we can make it!_

_I say embrace the magic_   
_No more holding back, just let it out_   
_If you can take the magic_   
_And learn a little more what it can do_   
_Once the magic is part of you_   
_Once the magic is part of you_   
_Once the magic is part of you_

_Once the magic is part of you…_

Soon, the dock was complete, exactly the way they planned it. Everyone was impressed.

“Okay, not gonna lie here,” said Rainbow. “That was pretty awesome.”

“And look what you managed to accomplish,” said Sunset as she and the others marveled at the dock.

“Please, please, please can we do a run-through for the fashion show on it right this minute?” begged Rarity.

“I thought you weren’t done with the stitching on your poncho,” said Knuckles. Rarity quickly picked it up and gave it a single stitch.

“I am now,” she smirked.

“Start it up without us,” said Sonic. “We gotta go find Twilight.”

“Seeing what we’ve been able to do here might make her embrace your new power too,” said Sunset. “Uh, not that she has any.” Quickly she ran off with Sonic.

“Nice bail,” he said. Then as they were walking past the boathouse, Sonic’s sharp ears latched onto someone talking inside.

“Hey wait, listen,” he said to Sunset.

“I just wish you didn’t tell them that ridiculous story!” said one voice that sounded like Gloriosa. The two snuck up to the door to eavesdrop.

“Ah! This is all too much for you,” said Timber inside. “You have to let it go!”

“We were right,” said Sonic. “He wants her to get rid of the camp,” Then the door opened and smacked the two in the face as Gloriosa walked out with Timber following her, and by some miracle, they didn’t see Sunset or Sonic in the window of the door.

Quietly (or as quietly as possible with a door as squeaky as that one) they jumped out from behind the door only for Sunset to bump into Flash. Sonic knew he had to make it seem inconspicuous, so he waved his hand over one of Sunset’s ears.

“Sunset Shimmer? Sonic?” asked Flash. “What were you doing behind that door?” Sunset tried to think of a plausible excuse, but then Sonic spoke up.

“She lost an earring, asked me to help her find it,” said Sonic as he dropped something on the ground and looked at it. “Found it.” Sunset walked over and saw it actually was one of her sun-shaped earrings. She checked her right ear and saw the one from it was gone.

“How did you-?” she whispered.

“What, you thought Manic was the only one in my family who was good at pick-pocketing?” he whispered back.

“Fair point,” she said as she put it back on.

“Hey, listen, Sunset. I’m really glad I ran into you. I really wanted to thank you.” said Flash.

“For what?” asked Sunset.

“For the tough love you and Shadow gave me,” he said. “For telling me I should get over Twilight. I needed to hear that.”

“Sure, no problem,” said Sunset, not listening.

“Is something wrong?” asked Flash.

“What? No. Why?” asked Sunset.

“Cmon, Sunset. We used to date,” said Flash. “I know when something’s bothering you.”

Sunset sighed. “Okay, here’s the deal,” she said. “My friend really likes someone but I don’t that someone is who she thinks they are. I don’t wanna upset my friend by telling her what I think, because I also wanna protect her, because if what I think is happening is really happening, then she deserves to know. Ya know?”

“No,” said Flash.

“Yeah, ya- ya lost me somewhere out there too,” said Sonic.

“But what I do know is that your ‘friend’ is lucky to have someone like you to look out for them,” said Flash.

“Really?” asked Sunset.

“Yeah. Y’know, you’ve changed a lot since we went out,” said Flash. “You’re so much… nicer.”

“Thanks,” said Sunset. “I’m glad you noticed.” Then Sonic saw something. He elbowed Sunset and directed her attention to Timber, who was sneaking into the forest.

“Uh, look,” said Flash. “I know you and Shadow are a thing now, but maybe you and me, we could start over as friends…”

“Uh, sounds great. We gotta go,” said Sunset as she and Sonic ran off.

“Sorry dude. Kinda busy. BRB!” said Sonic.

“Cool! Yeah, I wanted to start over later too!” said Flash. He kicked a rock in frustration as Ditzy walked over and patted him on the shoulder.


	10. Nature's Dark Beauty

Timber wandered the path as it led him deeper into the woods. Suddenly, he heard a twig snap behind him, so he reeled around to see if no one was behind him. Then he continued on, not seeing Sunset and Sonic climb down from a tree.

“Told ya he wouldn’t see us,” said Sonic.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get you a commendation once we prove this guy is guilty,” said Sunset. “We must be getting close to the rock quarry.” Then the earth rumbled down the path Timber took, quickly following suit. They parted the branches of a tree to see someone enter the cave ahead. Then there was a large purple glow coming from inside the cave.

“Shoot,” said Sunset. “He’s definitely up to something.” Then she whipped out her cell phone, but Sonic pushed it back down.

“I have something faster,” he said, hovering a small gadget out in front of him. Back at the tent a similar gadget floated up to Twilight and projected a green hologram of Sonic.

“Twilight, listen well, cause I’m only gonna say this once,” he said. “Meet us at the rock quarry.”

“I thought we weren’t supposed to hike up that far,” said Spike.

“It’s important. That’s all I’m saying,” said Sonic as the hologram disappeared. Quickly, the two ran out to the quarry when Twilight saw a purple glow in the sky and slowed down.

“What is that?” she asked. Then she walked face-first into a spider web, making her scream in fear. Quickly, Sunset’s hand shot in out of nowhere, covering her mouth.

“SHH!” she said.

“This way,” said Sonic as he led them down to the cave, which was glowing purple.

“What’s going on down there?” asked Twilight.

“I got three bucks that say it’s Gaea Everfree,” said Sonic. “Or rather, someone who wants us to think she’s returned.”

“Cmon,” said Sunset. The four walked into the cave to find it full of bright pinkish-purple crystals that glowed in the dark. In the core of the cave, there was a large white stone with two small geodes in it, one purple, one orange.

“Whoa,” said Sunset.

“This place is beautiful,” said Twilight.

“There’s… Equestrian Magic here,” said Sunset. “I can… I can feel it.”

“Yeah. Yeah, me too,” said Sonic.

“Wait, I thought Timber was just faking there was a magical nature creature,” said Spike. “Are you saying it’s real?”

“Dude. We agreed we would bring that up when we were positive,” said Sonic.

“Oops. Sorry,” he said.

“Timber? What does he have to do with any of this?” asked Twilight.

“Nothing,” came a voice. The group looked into the shadows and saw the one person they least expected. “It’s all me.”

“Gloriosa?” asked Sonic.

“But… Timber…” said Sunset. “I was certain he was the one who wanted it to seem like Gaea Everfree returned.”

“Wait, lemme get this straight, it was _you_ who was trying to scare everyone away?” asked Sonic. “Okay, I am completely lost here.”

“I would never try to scare anyone away from Camp Everfree,” said Gloriosa as she walked past them. Thinking quickly, Sunset grabbed Gloriosa’s arm and her eyes glowed white as she peered into her mind.

**Inside her Vision…**

**Flash!**

_She saw Filthy Rich in her office, looking smugly at a notice._

_“My oh my. You fell behind on your payments, Gloriosa,” he said. “I own the land now.”_

_“Please,” Gloriosa begged. “My great grandparents founded this place. It’s been in our family for generations. You have to let it stay.”_

_“Instead of turning it into a spa resort that will line my pockets with more money than this camp ever could?” he asked and chuckled smugly. “I don’t think so.”_

_“Please!” Gloriosa begged. “I just need a little more time!”_

_“Fine,” said Filthy Rich. “You have till the end of the month, and if you don’t have my money, the land is mine.” Then he left, leaving Gloriosa crying at her desk._

**Flash!**

_She was still crying later at a pool in the woods. “What’ll I do?” she asked herself. Then she saw some sort of sparkling mist wafting towards the quarry, where it hit and glowed. Gloriosa walked into the cave and found the stone with the geodes in it. Thinking they could solve her problems, she took five as a bright light filled the room, knocking her back. Hoping for something to catch her, somehow Gloriosa generated a chair of some sort out of tree roots. She looked back at her hand and realized it was thanks to the geodes she had taken._

**Flash!**

_Back at her office, she and Timber were arguing._

_“You don’t know what those things are!” said Timber._

_“But I know what they can do,” she said, manipulating some hanging plants to grow. “I’ve been practicing. I can control their power now.”_

_“You don’t know that for sure,” said Timber. Gloriosa crossed her arms, but Timber waved her off and began to leave, but before he could, Gloriosa grabbed him._

_“This is our camp, and it’s being taken away!” she said. “If this has to be our last week here, I’m going to use whatever it takes to make it count!”_

**Flash!**

_Days earlier, when Ditzy and Sandalwood’s boat got stuck in the middle of the lake, she manipulated some of the plants in the lake to push them… straight into the dock._

**Flash!**

_When Trixie and someone else went to the river to fish but found it dry, Gloriosa forced some boulders down from where they were blocking the river, resulting in a full river and a minor tremor._

**Flash!**

_In the boathouse, Timber was arguing with her again._

_“You were using magic all over the place!” he said. “I had to tell them something to cover for you. What did you want me to do?”_

_“I just wish you didn’t tell them that ridiculous story!” she shouted at him._

_“Ah! This is all too much for you!” said Timber. “You have to let it go!”_

**Back in reality…**

Gloriosa yanked her hand away as the vision faded and Sunset held her head. Then she realized it.

“Timber wasn’t talking about letting go of the camp,” she said. “He was talking about you letting go of those magical geodes.” Gloriosa whipped around in surprise.

“All that stuff you were doing to make this ‘the best week ever’, every time you used magic to do them, it made another problem somewhere else.” continued Sunset. Then Sonic realized it.

“Wait. Timber was… covering for her?” he asked.

“How do you know what I was doing with the geodes?” asked Gloriosa. “How do you know about the magic?”

“I can see things. Feel things. Because I have magic too,” said Sunset. “And so does she. And so do our friends.”

“Gloriosa, Timber wasn’t wrong,” said Twilight. “Maybe you should stop using magic. Too much of it can be dangerous if you can’t control it.”

“Oh, I got this,” said Gloriosa. “And I’m going to use it to save my camp!”

“No, you don’t got this. Nothing you can do can help you. It’ll kill you!” said Sonic.

“No! I can fix this! I just need more power!” she said, reaching for the last two geodes.

“No!” they all shouted. Sonic tried to zip in and stop her, but his legs were caught in roots Gloriosa summoned as she tied him, the girls and Spike up in the roots. Then the last two stones shifted into her necklace, which became a plant. Then she began to undergo a sinister transformation. Green boots with brown bands formed around her feet, her clothes turned into leaves, her hair grew wild and her eyes turned into pools of black tar with an aura shimmering like diamonds. She had become the true Gaea Everfree.

“Sorry you guys,” she said as she floated away. “I know what I need to do.”

“No, you don’t. You’ve used the magic too much!” said Sonic. “It’s poisoning your mind! Whatever you’re planning, you have to fight it!” Then a root shot up and smacked him across the face.

“But I feel like we’re not on the same page, so…” she continued and left.

Twilight and Sunset shouted after her, but too late as she shifted a pair of large boulders into the way of the cave entrance. Then she floated away to the camp.

There, Rarity was outfitting everyone for her fashion show. Then she realized something.

“Where are Sonic, Sunset, and Twilight?” she asked. “They’re missing our dress rehearsal.” Everyone shrugged.

“Relax,” said Manic. “Sonic’s always late. He probably dragged the girls along with him.”

“I suppose we can get started without them,” said Rarity. “Whenever you’re ready, Vinyl!”

The DJ quickly put a techno-pop record in the player and spun it as the others walked down the dock. Rarity and Silver then saw Applejack and Knuckles fiddling with their outfits.

“Told ya you’d like ‘em,” he said.

“They’re all right,” said Knuckles. “I guess.”

“We do get to keep them after camp though, right?” asked Applejack. Rarity nodded and shooed them down the dock before she and Silver followed, totally unaware that Gloriosa was floating ever nearer.

Snips and Snails were filling water balloons from the old pump when they saw her, but they didn’t freak out.

“She looks different,” said Snails. (Why is that do you think?)

“Yeah,” said Snips. “She looks…” (Yeah?) “taller.”

***unamused* Seriously?**

**Sunset: Ugh. I can’t believe those two goobers used to be my lackeys.**

**You and me both. Anyway, back to the story…**

Back at the dock, they were enjoying themselves enormously.

“Man, you did nice work Rarity,” said Manic.

“This is only a preview,” she replied. “We’ve got another entire line we’ll debut at the real thing.” Then the music stopped, surprising everyone.

“Uh, where’s the music- GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA!” shouted Silver as he and the others looked to see Gloriosa floating in.

“Attention campers!” she shouted.

“It’s Gaea Everfree!” shouted Trixie.

“Unbelievable!” said Sonia.

“She’s real!” shouted Flash.

“WE’RE DOOMED!!” shouted the big guy. Then timber stepped forward, just as shocked.

“Gloriosa?” he asked, shocking everyone even more. “What are you doing?”

“That’s Gloriosa?” asked Applejack.

“Am I going insane or is she floating?” asked Knuckles.

“Freaky-deaky!” said Pinkie.

“Coming from you?” asked Shadow.

“Okay, 1; that’s just Pinkie Pie. 2; Timing, dude.” said Manic.

“Sorry.”

“I have an announcement to make!” said Gloriosa. “Filthy Rich wants this to be the last session of Camp Everfree. But don’t worry! I GOT THIS!” Then she summoned a huge wall of brambles, encircling the camp and destroying the dock.

“Oh, come on!” said Rainbow. “We literally just finished building that.”

“Why does nature hate us?!” asked Knuckles. Silver opened his mouth before Knuckles said “Don’t answer that. I was being rhetorical.”

**(Play “We Will Stand for Everfree” – Gloriosa Daisy – Original Movie)**

_Gloriosa: I have waited for the day_   
_To send this greedy wolf away_   
_Now the magic is my salvation_   
_Gather close in my protection_

_We... will... stand for Everfree!_

Then she started raising the wall and trapping people in cages of thorns. Timber tried to save some of them with his ax, but he was trapped. Shadow, however, raced to the wall with a chainsaw and tried to cut through, but the thorns were too thick and strong as the broke the saw. Quickly, he teleported away to the others.

_Behold the beauty of nature in all its glory_   
_No need to fear the vultures at the door_   
_Right here you have me to protect you_   
_Within these walls of thorns_   
_Forever free, forevermore!_

_They have come into our domain_   
_Here to seal our camp in chains_   
_But we have held it for generations_   
_This is just a complication_

_We... will... stand for Everfree!_

_Trust in me, this is for your own good_   
_Don't be afraid, nature is our friend_   
_All of this beauty that surrounds us_   
_Every lovely bloom designed to defend_

“You mean kill!” shouted Shadow.

“More heroes will come! They’ll save us!” shouted Tails. Gloriosa just laughed.

_Let them come, just let them try!_   
_I'm not about to say goodbye!_   
_This camp will be here throughout the ages_   
_Written into the history pages_

_We... will... stand for Everfree!_

Then she caged the whole camp in a huge dome of thorns.


	11. Once a Hero, Always a Hero

The others were hidden behind a turned-over boat as Fluttershy sighed.

“Why do these kinds of things always happen to us?” she asked.

“What are we going to do?” asked Rarity.

“What we always do,” said Rainbow as she stuck her hand in front of her. “Save the day.” The others thought and smiled at the idea as they put their hands in.

“Oh boy oh boy oh boy!” said Pinkie. “This is gonna be so much fun! I only wish we had time to make superhero capes!”

“Ooh, me too!” said Rarity.

“Ugh! Enough with the wardrobe!” said Rainbow. “We’ve gotta stop Gloriosa from trapping everybody in here.” Everyone nodded and went to work.

People were running this way and that as Gloriosa tried to trap them. She almost crushed two girls with the totem pole, but then Rarity ponied up and raised a gem shield to stop it before Silver, who had ponied up as well, used his powers to accelerate time around it and make it rot into soil.

Then Rainbow zipped past with Sonia on her motorcycle, scooping up the girls before depositing them near the wall, ponying up, high-fiving, and racing off.

Then Fluttershy, who was near the wall with Tails, tapped the ground and three rodents poked their heads up.

“Um, hi,” she said. “Do you think you could give us a hand? Er, paw?” Then she ponied up. “We could really use a way out.” The rodents agreed and started digging. Then Tails ponied up as he used his arm cannon’s perpetual blast mode to try and drill through the brambles.

Then Knuckles and Applejack ponied up as AJ picked up a huge boulder and threw it into the air before Knuckles punched it through the brambles, but they reformed.

“Okay, now I’m getting annoyed,” said Knuckles as he and AJ rolled up their sleeves.

The rodents and Tails had finally made two exits, but the brambles reformed, blocking them both. Then Gloriosa noticed standard and pink explosions coming from somewhere. She saw Pinkie, Manic and Shadow, who had all ponied up chunking grenades and charged clumps of sprinkles at the wall. Knuckles and Applejack shoved stuff into the holes, but they were broken.

Soon practically everyone was captured in cages of brambles. Rainbow almost joined them when a strange red streak shot in and grabbed her. It stopped and was revealed to be a man in a red suit with a very familiar lightning bolt on his chest.

**Ha-ha! Boo-yah! Sonic/Arrowverse Crossover just came full circle, baby!**

“You alright?” he asked.

“Um, yeah,” she said. “Who are you?” He smirked.

“He’s the Flash. Barry, what are you doing here?” asked Tails as he hovered up.

“Tails? No way. If I knew you were here, I would’ve legged it from Central City way sooner. Especially given all of this.” he said removing his mask.

“Wait, you mean this is Earth-1?” asked Tails.

“Of course. And I brought back up,” he said as a man in green with a blonde beard and a bow and arrow, a man in a high-tech suit, and a blonde woman in a black leather suit with twin black tonfa appeared.

“May I introduce Green Arrow, Black Canary, and the Atom,” said Barry.

“Sweet. We need the backup,” said Shadow. The Flash quickly replaced his mask and smirked as he and his allies shot around trying to save everyone.

“Warned ya, didn’t I?” asked Tails. Rainbow was almost caught again, but Pinkie saved her. She tossed her jar of sprinkles around in triumph and caught it easily before it started glowing.

“Fire in the hole!” shouted Shadow as she chucked it at the wall, blowing a hole before it was reformed.

“This isn’t working,” said the Atom. “She’s too powerful.” Back in the cave, everyone was still struggling against the roots. Spike was trying to chew his way free, but he was just earning a toothache.

“Any ideas?” asked Sunset. Then Sonic remembered something.

“I have one. Twilight, there’s a gauntlet on my belt. Think you can reach it?” he asked. Twilight reached over and pulled a medieval metal gauntlet off his belt and slipped it onto his hand.

“Do I even want to know why you have this thing?” asked Twilight.

“All will be revealed soon,” said Sonic as he touched the stone in his gauntlet which rang and his voice echoed. “Excalibur, Sacred Sword of Avalon, Blade of the Kings, thy knight summons thee to his aid. Free us from these bonds so we might aid our friends in arms.”

Then all the way back in town, at an old apartment Sonic and his team had bought for while they were stranded, Sonic’s sword, Caliburn (who is actually Excalibur) flew from his scabbard and shot towards the caves before he began spinning like a drill, burrowing through the stone.

Then Sonic held his hands leisurely in front of him before his sword shot through the ceiling and slashed through the roots around his hands before he embedded himself in the floor. Sonic quickly drew him and slashed through everyone else’s bonds.

“What took you so long?” Sonic asked his sword.

“It was a rather long flight.” said the blade.

“Whatever,” said Sunset. “Come on. We’ve gotta help the others.”

“And you’re not freaked by the talking sword because?” asked Twilight.

“He’s enchanted. Get used to it,” said Sonic. Sunset tried to push the boulders out of the way, but they were too heavy. Sonic tried stabbing them, hoping they would splinter, but the blade just struck it with a loud twang! reverberating all the way to Sonic.

“Solid granite. My one weakness,” said Sonic as he stopped.

“Twilight, you have to use your magic,” said Sunset.

“I don’t think I can lift something that big,” said Twilight.

“It’s the only way we can get out of here and help the others,” said Sonic. Spike smiled at Twilight, and she realized Sunset was right. She put him down and went to the rock, beginning to levitate it out of the way. Then Sonic saw a little light blue glow on her forehead, but it died out as the rock moved and she panted. Quickly, Sonic caught her and she smiled at him.

“Cmon. We’ve gotta go help the others,” he said and they all ran to the camp to see the dome rising. But as Sonic got closer, he noticed he was slowing down. He remembered the Flash saying that if more than one speedster tries to use the Speed Force at once, the second one’s power will be disrupted. Then through a crack in the brambles, he saw a streaking of red and yellow lightning bolts. He smiled knowing Barry was here as he continued.

“Why are you fighting me?” asked Gloriosa. “I’m doing this to save our camp! I’m doing this for you!”

“I find that a bit hard to believe seeing as how you’re trapping everyone here forever,” said Black Canary. Then Rarity stepped forward.

“Gloriosa, let’s just think about this for a moment, shall we?” she asked.

“ _Uh-oh,_ ” thought Silver, having had the same vision as Sunset earlier.

“I mean, I think Camp Everfree is absolutely delightful…” Rarity continued.

“Don’t say it,” said Silver worriedly.

“But I just don’t know that I’m quite ready to give up my weekly trips to the spa.” she finished.

“Aaaand we’re screwed.” said Silver, seeing a twitch in Gloriosa’s eye.

“‘To the spa’?” she asked mimickingly.

“Uh-oh.” said the Flash, quickly getting the picture.

“To the spa?!” asked Gloriosa again, more angrily as she shot roots at them. Atom and Arrow quickly started shooting them all away.

“I think you pressed a sensitive button,” said Atom.

“No duh,” said Silver. Rainbow ran over to help the others, but Gloriosa shot a root up to trip her straight into Flash.

“Gloriosa. This isn’t the way!” said Timber.

“Listen to your brother for once! He knows what he’s talkin’ about!” shouted Manic.

“I appreciate your concern, Timber,” said Gloriosa. “But I got this!” Then she grew the dome all the way up and around, trapping him in the process.

“No! You don’t!” he shouted, but she wouldn’t listen. The power in the geodes was corrupting her. Outside, Sunset was trying to pull the thorns apart, but they were too strong. Sonic tried slashing through, but the brambles kept reforming.

“Twilight, do you think you can use your magic?” asked Sunset. Twilight was worried.

“I don’t wanna use too much,” she said. “Midnight Sparkle could take over-” Sonic smacked her across the face.

“Pull yourself together, Twilight!” he shouted as he and Sunset ponied up. “Our team is in there! Our friends! If you won’t get us in, I’ll just do it myself! I’ll swing until Caliburn shatters if I have to!” Then he began swinging again, screaming the whole time. Twilight realized he was right and stopped him mid-swing.

“I’ll do it,” she said. After hearing that, Sonic lowered his blade and let her part the roots. Inside, Timber was still trying to negotiate.

“Please Gloriosa. What you’re doing is crazy,” he said. “You have to listen to me!”

“That isn’t Gloriosa,” said Sunset as she and the others walked through.

“Twilight!” said Rarity.

“Sunset!” said Sunset.

“Sonic!” said Tails.

“You’re okay!” said Rainbow. Sonic and the others ran over to Timber.

“That’s not your sister,” he said. “Not anymore at least. She’s been consumed by the Equestrian Magic in those geodes. If we don’t stop her, she’ll keep us trapped here for eternity.”

“Whoever you are, you have to let my sister go!” he shouted up to her. “Please Gloriosa, come back! I need you!” She still wouldn’t listen as wood and roots surrounded her.

“It’s no use. She’s too far gone to try and talk out of it. We’re gonna have to go with Plan B for Butt-kicking.” said Sonic. Then it seemed like they wouldn’t get the chance as the dome was completed and roots shot up from everywhere. Quickly the others ran up to Sonic and the girls.

“Rarity!” shouted Applejack.

“Shadow!” shouted Silver. Quickly, Rarity generated a gem shield and Shadow reinforced it with his Chaos Energy. Then Arrow shot an arrow into the ground which generated a layer of expanding foam which Flash ran on to flatten.

“That should hold it for a while,” said Barry. Then a root shot through the foam. “Or not.” Then Arrow let loose one of his namesakes and released a small cloud of herbicide, killing the root. Then the shield started creaking.

“We can’t hold this forever! So if we’re gonna do something, we’d better do it now!” said Shadow.

“Then it’s all on you, Twilight,” said Sonic. “You can use your magic to pull these brambles apart.”

“No. There’s too many of them,” said Twilight. “It would take too much magic. I can’t.”

“Can’t and won’t are two separate things,” said Green Arrow, removing his green domino mask and hood. “My name is Oliver Queen. When I was first marooned on Lian Yu, I wouldn’t kill anything, even a bird, but I learned I needed to kill in order to survive. If you don’t embrace your powers to save us now, all we’ve sacrificed made won’t have amounted to anything. Now do it!”

“But what if she takes over?” asked Twilight. “What if instead of saving everyone, I turn into Midnight Sparkle and only make things worse?”

“Midnight is just an illusion. The only one in control of your body is you. And if she does take over, you can be damn well sure we’ll stop her.” said Sonic.

“If you’re done with your help session, now would be a really good time!” said Shadow as the gems in the shield cracked. Twilight finally conceded and used her magic to start pushing against the roots, but then the gems cracked and shattered, sending Rarity fainting into Silver’s arms and Shadow alone with the shield. Flash tried running in circles to strengthen it, but it wasn’t working.

“Come on, Twilight! You have to be stronger than she is!” said Sunset as she grabbed her arms. Then Midnight’s eye rims and horn appeared and inside Twilight’s mind, Midnight appeared laughing.

“You will ever control me! I will always be a part of you!” she said and burned into Twilight’s body, making her sprout the wings, lenses, and horn of the demon.

“NO!!” she cried.

“Twilight!” came Sunset’s voice as she appeared in her mind. “Listen to me! You are in charge!”

“You are a light, darling! A force for good!” said Rarity.

“Yeah! You can kick the darkness’s butt!” said Rainbow.

“We’re here for you Twilight!” said Pinkie.

“And we’ll be here no matter what!” said Applejack.

“We believe in you!” said Fluttershy.

“Now get out here and make us proud to be your friends!” said Sonic.

“You are NOT Midnight Sparkle!” shouted Sunset. Twilight closed her eyes and ponied up. For real this time.

“No! I… Am… Twilight Sparkle!” she shouted. “And the magic I carry inside me is… The Magic of Friendship!” Then the roots were blasted apart and everyone leaped out.

“Let’s do this!” shouted Sonic.

“For the Multiverse!” everyone shouted. Twilight flew up and ripped some of the roots away from where Gloriosa was and Sonic slashed like crazy to help her.

“No! Stop!” she shouted.

“Timber’s been asking you to stop for weeks and did you?” asked Sonic. “We won’t stop until those geodes are destroyed!” Then out of nowhere, the geodes flew off her and all of them went to a specific girl. The red went to Sunset, the light blue to Rainbow, orange to Applejack, white to Rarity, yellow to Fluttershy and pink to Pinkie (obviously).

They hovered in the girls’ hands and started glowing as the girls all transformed as the geodes turned into small pendants.

Sunset’s hair turned into an Egyptian style with a crown with her sun symbol. She was wearing a sparkling rose red dress with butter yellow details, marigold orange shoulder pads with sapphire blue crystals in them, a coal black belt around her waist with her symbol on the front, marigold gold gauntlets on each hand, coal black tightfitting pants, and marigold orange boots with gold and sapphire blue crystals.

Rainbow’s hair was set in a new ponytail and her wings turned into sapphire blue crystals. She was wearing a sparkling rose red dress with a lapis blue streak going down, pure gold gauntlets with a lightning bolt on each hand, gold shoulder pads, some pieces of gold and clear marigold detail on the skirt as well as a gold belt, sparkling cerulean blue short tightfitting pants with marigold streaks on the side, and sparkling tangerine orange and blue running shoes with Tuscan sun yellow wings.

Applejack’s hair was set in a new ponytail with an emerald green hairband with apples on it. She was wearing a teal blue dress with a pure gold collar with gold buttons, a gold belt, cinnamon brown gloves with emeralds on the back of the hands surrounded by lime green, biscotti tan tightfitting pants, teal blue socks and marigold orange cowgirl boots with biscotti tan detail and emerald apples.

Fluttershy’s hair was wrapped in a stylish ponytail, had a violet crystal butterfly clip as well as two white ones, and her wings had turned into seafoam green crystals. She was wearing a sparkling arctic blue and mint green dress with hot pink crystal butterflies, canary yellow and violet shoulder pads, mauve gauntlets on her hands, white tightfitting pants, arctic blue socks, and sparkling taffy pink boots with chartreuse green detail.

Pinkie’s hair turned into two short pigtails with three crystal balloon hairclips; one sky blue, one gold and one magenta. She was wearing a sparkling magenta and daffodil yellow dress with long sleeves and arctic blue crystal balloons, violet gloves with cobalt blue bracelets, sparkling magenta short tightfitting pants and magenta slippers with arctic blue crystal balloons on them.

Rarity’s hair was in a stylish new ponytail. She was wearing a sparkling dress mixed in the colors of cobalt, sky, and stone blue. She had violet gauntlets, a periwinkle belt with a cerulean diamond buckle in the front, indigo tightfitting pants and dark amethyst purple boots with cerulean blue diamonds on them.

Then Twilight hovered to them and her geode transformed her too, turning itself into a small pendant. Her glasses were replaced with clear magenta goggles and a magenta starry headband in her hair, now set in a long ponytail and her wings had been replaced with sapphire blue crystals. She was wearing a sparkling Aegean blue and violet dress with a magenta collar and a white triangle, magenta gloves with sky blue bracers and magenta stars, indigo tightfitting pants, and cerulean boots with crepe pink detail and a magenta star at the center on the top.

The pendants then shot pure energy into the air forming a rainbow-colored geode which flew to and was embedded in the bottom of Caliburn’s handle, growing his blade thicker and stronger, allowing Sonic access to a new form.

His hair gained emerald green and crimson highlights and his wings had turned to sapphire blue crystals. He was wearing a sparkling cerulean blue short-sleeve shirt, gold armor on his chest and shoulders along with golden gauntlets. His chestplate had a large white star with seven other stars surrounding it; one cerulean, one fuscia pink, one crimson, one tiger orange, one gold, one white and one lavender. He also had sparkling crimson tightfitting pants with marigold highlights, a pure gold belt with seven geodes almost exactly like the originals, and Aegean blue running shoes with white and marigold orange highlights.

Then the eight heroes shot their colored beams into the bramble dome and turned it to crystal. Then Sonic flew up and stabbed the dome with Caliburn, shattering the dome and causing a huge shockwave. After a huge flash of light, all the brambles were gone and strange green lights wafted down from the sky. Principal Celestia, who had taken some of the students into the mess hall, walked out and saw it was safe.

Timber leaned up and rubbed his head before he went over to his sister, who was lying on the ground. “Gloriosa?” he asked as a green light fell on her and woke her up.

“What… What happened?” she asked.

“It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay,” said Timber as he hugged his sister and looked up at Twilight, who smiled as she and the others went back to the ground, where everyone cheered them, even Oliver. Then Spike ran up and jumped into Twilight’s arms.

“You did it!” he said before he saw her pendant. “Whoa. Nice bling.” Then the others looked at their pendants as Sonic looked at the geode in Caliburn’s handle.

“What… What are these?” asked Applejack.

“I don’t know,” said Sonic. “But it’s pretty clear we have some sort of connection to them.”

“I almost don’t care what they are,” said Rarity. “They are gorgeous!” Then she gasped. “And will totally go with the other collection I was working on for the camp fashion show!”

Sonic glanced over at the dock. “Yeah… About that…” he said.

“That’s probably canceled, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Yeah.” said the Atom, removing his helmet.


	12. The Crystal Ball

Later on, everyone had met the other heroes; Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, Ray Palmer, and Laurel Lance, and were cleaning up Gloriosa’s mess as she went to apologize to Celestia and Luna.

“I am so sorry,” she said. “I only wanted this to be the best week Camp Everfree ever had, and instead I’ve made it the worst.”

“You kidding?” asked Sonic. “I haven’t gotten to do anything this exciting since the EX World Grand Prix. Major kudos.”

“Still… Maybe it’s for the best that I’m losing the Camp to Filthy Rich,” said Gloriosa.

“No. It’s not,” said Celestia. “This camp has meant so much to so many people, my sister and me included.”

“Why do you think we wanted our students to come here?” asked Luna.

“We can’t let that cheat take this place away,” said Twilight. “If camp meant so much to you two, maybe it meant as much to the other campers who came here in years past.”

“And maybe we can get them to help save it!” said Sunset.

“Oh. Like a fundraiser?” asked Applejack.

“Or a ball?!” asked Rarity, excited.

“Our bands could play!” said Rainbow.

“Fluttershy and I could write a new song just for the occasion.” said Tails.

“All in favor?” asked Sonic.

“Aye!” everyone shouted.

“Motion carried,” said Sonic.

“Those are all good ideas, but where would we hold it?” asked Gloriosa. Sonic thought before he snapped his fingers.

“How about the Crystal Caves?” he suggested.

“A Crystal Ball?” asked Rarity. “I love it!”

“All right then. Let’s do it! Barry, you and the others willing to help?” asked Sonic.

“Well, it’s not like we have anything better to do,” said Ray.

“I admire everyone’s enthusiasm. Really, I do,” said Gloriosa. “But I just don’t know how we’re going to plan a ball by tomorrow and invite everyone.” The heroes all looked at each other and smiled.

“We got this!” they all shouted.

“Hit it!” shouted Sonic.

**(Play “Legend You Were Meant To Be” – Rainbooms – Original Soundtrack)**

The next night, everything was set and everyone was jamming out to the guys on stage.

_Twilight:_ _I used to think that stories were just that  
Set in stone, concrete as a fact_

_Sonic:_ _It didn't dawn on me  
That I could change history_

_Sunset:_ _Now I know I'm writing my own song  
Fight my way to the ending that I want_

_Shadow: I'll turn a tragedy_

_First Four: Into an epic fantasy_

_Sonic Rainbooms:_ _Hey, hey, hey_  
You can be a hero (hero) too  
Oh-oh-oh  
Take my hand, I'm here for you

 _Come away with me_  
Be the legend you were meant to be  
You'll always be Everfree

 _Oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah_  
To be the legend you were meant to be  
Oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah  
To be the legend you were meant to be

_Fluttershy: There was a time when fear would hold me down_

_Tails: 'Cause I let it chain me to the ground_

_Rainbow:_ _Look at me now, I'm soaring high  
It's never boring in the sky_

_Applejack: When I know I've got friends on my side_

_Knuckles: Whatever trials, I'll take them all in stride_

_Rarity: Together we will shine so bright_

_Silver: A radiant brilliance in the night_

_Sonic Rainbooms:_ _Hey, hey, hey_  
You can be a hero (hero) too  
Oh-oh-oh  
Take my hand, I'm here for you

 _Come away with me_  
Be the legend you were meant to be  
You'll always be Everfree

Pinkie decided to spice things up for the finale, so she threw some sprinkles on her drums and let them explode in a pink sparkling cloud.

 _Oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah_  
To be the legend you were meant to be  
Oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah  
To be the legend you were meant to be!

When they were done, everyone cheered wildly and Gloriosa walked up on stage.

“Thank you, everyone,” Sonic said into the mic. “Now before we move on tonight, the camp director, Gloriosa Daisy, would like to make an announcement.” Then he passed the mic over to her.

“Thank you all so much for coming,” she said. “And for helping us raise enough money to… save Camp Everfree!” Everyone cheered as Filthy Rich, who had shown up to collect the money, just left.

“Thank you. For everything,” said Gloriosa. “If I’d just asked for help in the first place-”

“Ah, don’t sweat it. It’s kinda what we do,” said Rainbow. Later, Twilight and Sonic were setting lights when Timber walked up.

“Not to brag or anything, but it’s pretty cool how I saved everyone from those Rubus fruticosus,” he said. “Blackberry brambles.”

“I’m familiar with the genus,” said Twilight. “It’s just a little weird you’d say you saved the campers.”

“Yeah, I thought _we_ saved them,” said Sonic.

“Yeah, but _I_ saved _you_ from falling on the docks, so that _you_ could save the campers,” said Timber. “So technically, it was all me.”

“Oh yeah? So then I guess that makes _you_ a magic-powered sword-wielding badass,” said Sonic as he waved Caliburn in front of him, implying he wanted Timber to hold it, but he didn’t. “Didn’t think so.” Twilight giggled as he walked away.

“I’m really glad I met you, Timber,” she said. Then Timber got worried.

“Uh oh,” he said.

“What?” asked Twilight.

“That sounds like a ‘good-bye’ and here I was hoping we’d still be able to hang out,” he said and blushed. “Maybe get dinner and catch a movie?” Twilight blushed bright red.

“Yeah. I’d really like that,” she said.

“Oh good. I was hoping that’s what this meant,” said Timber, referring to the lights that were being strung around them.

“Wait, that’s not me,” she said. She looked and saw Silver manipulating it.

“Silver!” they both said.

“Oh shut up! You’re blowing your own mood!” he called back. The two decided to listen to him as Twilight took Timber’s hand. They were inches away from a kiss when Gloriosa swooped in and grabbed Timber.

“Oh, uh. Sorry,” she said. “I need to borrow Timber.”

“Moodkiller.” thought Sonic.

“There are some donors I really want him to meet,” she continued. “There were good friends with Mom and Dad.” Timber decided to follow, but he looked back at Twilight.

“Save me a dance, ok?” he asked.

“Uh huh,” she said and walked away blushing.

“♪Adorable.♪” said Rarity in a sing-song voice.

“He does like a pretty cool guy,” said Laurel. Then Rainbow zipped in.

“You know what else is cool?” she asked. “Our awesome new superpowers.” Then she zipped around before returning to the girls with a pizza box. “I handed out like four hundred fliers, set up the stage, and still had time to pick up pizza. I LOVE MY SUPER SPEED!”

“Welcome to the club,” said Barry.

“About that,” said Sunset, looking at her pendant. “Sonic and I think the crystals are the sources of the powers.”

“You’re not gonna ask us to give them up, are you?” asked Fluttershy.

“Of course not,” said Sonic. “In fact, this might sound crazy but I think we were meant to find them all along.”

“Me too,” said Twilight. Later that evening, Sonic and Sunset were resting by the opening to the cave drinking punch. Barry, Oliver, Ray, and Laurel had to leave earlier, but the party was still awesome.

“What a great night,” said Sonic.

“Mmhmm,” said Sunset.

“Probably one of the best nights of my life,” he said before he saw something. “Uh oh. Lovebird alert.” Sunset looked and saw Timber kiss Twilight’s hand and leave as she walked over.

“So? When’s the wedding?” asked Sonic as he elbowed her.

“Oh. Shut up,” she replied and shoved him. He and Sunset just chuckled until Sunset thought of something.

“There’s just one thing I’m still wondering about though,” she said.

“What’s that?” asked Twilight.

“Where did the magic that hit this cave come from?” asked Sunset.

“Good question,” said Sonic as the three looked up at the moon. “I guess we’ll find out soon.” They had no idea how right Sonic was. Because back at Canterlot High, in the plinth that once held the Wondercolt Statue, there was a crack in the portal to Equestria. Suddenly, bright lights flashed from the crack and shot out of it. That could only mean one thing. More Equestrian magic was escaping, and the team was in for one hell of a welcome home present.


	13. Epilogue

After the ball, the Wondercolts had finally finished rebuilding the dock. The team stood in front of it to admire their handiwork.

“Third time’s the charm,” said Rainbow. “Or is it fifth? I’ve lost track.”

“Hehe. Yeah, me too.” chuckled Sonic.

“All that matters is that the runway is finished,” said Rarity.

“Ah think you mean the ‘dock’?” Applejack asked for the umpteenth time.

“Oh, to-mah-to, tomato,” said Rarity, confusing Silver.

“Pretty sure that saying is supposed to go the other way around, but whatever. Let’s just wing it,” he said.

“Y’know, I just don’t care anymore,” said Knuckles.

“Let’s celebrate!” shouted Pinkie, throwing stuff onto the dock, worrying Sonic.

“Those weren’t marshmallows, were they?” he asked. Too late. Soon the stuff Pinkie threw on the dock exploded, blowing the dock back to square one… AGAIN!! Everyone stared at it dismally, the explosion having messed up their hair. Rarity squeaked in fear and astonishment, extending her hand and then fainted.

“Y’know, in retrospect, we probably should’ve seen that coming.” said Tails. Everyone laughed at his light-hearted comment as they reset their hair.


End file.
